SEATTLE - The man suspected of gunning down four police officers in a suburban coffee shop was shot and killed by a lone patrolman investigating a stolen car early Tuesday.
Three people were arrested for allegedly helping the suspect elude authorities during a massive two-day manhunt. Two of the three are brothers, one of whom is believed to be the getaway driver and a former cellmate of Clemmons in Arkansas, The Tacoma News Tribune reports.
Maurice Clemmons was carrying a handgun he took from one of the dead officers when a Seattle policeman recognized him near a stolen car in Rainier Valley, a working-class south Seattle neighborhood, about 2:45 a.m., Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said.
The vehicle was running but unoccupied when the officer pulled up, radioed in the license plate number and realized the car was stolen, Pugel said.
The officer saw something moving, got out of his car, saw Clemmons and ordered him to show his hands and stop. Instead, Clemmons ran.
"He wouldn't stop," Pugel said. "The officer fired several rounds."
The suspect was declared dead at the scene. Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County sheriff, confirmed Clemmons had a gun that belonged to one of the slain Lakewood officers.
"We're very happy the Seattle police officer is alive," said Troyer. "We know this guy knows how to use a weapon; it's pretty evident by what happened down in Pierce County. Good thing he wasn't able to get the gun out here, or we might have had a different ending to this whole thing."
Authorities say Clemmons, 37, killed four Lakewood officers at a coffee shop Sunday morning in Parkland, a Tacoma suburb about 35 miles south of Seattle. After a massive manhunt for two days, police tracked him down using possible hiding spots supplied by Pierce County investigators, said Troyer.
Police were talking to people who saw or heard the confrontation. One of the witnesses said she was awoken by noise outside her home.
"It sounded like pops, like gunshots is what we thought," she said. "We saw cops coming, running with guns drawn through here, with a couple of guys with the SWAT shields."
A couple dozen police officers milled around at the scene where Clemmons apparently was shot Tuesday morning, shaking hands and patting each other on the back after one of the largest manhunts in the region. The officer who shot Clemmons was not injured, Pugel said.
Seattle Police did not identify the officer's name, but did say he's been with the department for 4.5 years and with another law enforcement agency in the state for 2.5 years prior to coming to the Seattle Police Department. Spokesperso Rene Witt said they will release his name later Tuesday or Wednesday.
Family, friends accused of helping Clemmons escape
At least three people have been booked into the Pierce County Jail in Tacoma, accused of aiding and abetting Clemmons. Police planned to arrest more people.
"We expect to have maybe six or seven people in custody by the day's end," said Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County sheriff. "Some are friends, some are acquaintances, some are partners in crime, some are relatives. Now they're all partners in crime."
Clemmons had stayed on the run for nearly two days with help from a network of friends and family who gave him places to stay, medical aid, rides and money, police said. Police believe people close to Clemmons have misled officers, and Troyer said anyone helping him could face charges.
"We don't think anyone helped him plan the murder. What we think happened is he's been bailed out of the jail, he's been released from prison, his family has enabled him," said Troyer. "Even after he killed four officers, they continued to try and save him, rescue him, and hamper our investigation."
The Tacoma News Tribune reported two of the people arrested were brothers, one of whom police believe is the getaway driver and a former cell mate of Clemmons in Arkansas. On Monday, officers also detained a sister of Clemmons who they think treated the suspect's gunshot wound.
"We believe she drove him up to Seattle and bandaged him up," Troyer said.
Authorities said the gunman singled out the Lakewood officers and spared employees and other customers at the coffee shop. He then fled, but not before he was apparently shot in the torso by one of the dying officers.
Killed were Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and Officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42.
Police said they aren't sure what prompted Clemmons to shoot the four officers, who were in uniform and working on paperwork at the coffee shop just two blocks outside their jurisdiction.
"The only motive that we have is he decided he was going to go kill police officers," Troyer said. He said Clemmons talked the night before the shooting about killing a group of cops and watching the news.
Police believe Clemmons chose the coffee shop because it was frequented by police officers from various agencies.
"We do not believe that the Lakewood officers were actually targeted other than that they were police officers in that location at the time where he knew he could find police officers."
Clemmons was described as increasingly erratic in the past few months and had been arrested earlier this year on charges that he punched a sheriff's deputy in the face.
Police surrounded a house in a Seattle neighborhood late Sunday following a tip Clemmons had been dropped off there. After an all-night siege, a SWAT team entered the home and found it empty. But police said Clemmons had been there.
Police frantically chased leads on Monday, searching multiple spots in the Seattle and Tacoma area and at one point cordoning off a park where people thought they saw Clemmons.
Authorities found a handgun carried by the killer, along with a pickup truck belonging to the suspect with blood stains inside. They posted a $125,000 reward for information leading to Clemmons' arrest and alerted hospitals to be on the lookout for a man seeking treatment for gunshot wounds.
Fallout over Clemmons' criminal history, release
Authorities in two states were criticized amid revelations that Clemmons was allowed to walk the streets despite a teenage crime spree in Arkansas that landed him an 108-year prison sentence. He was released early after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted his sentence.
Huckabee cited Clemmons' youth in granting the request. But Clemmons quickly reverted to his criminal past, violated his parole and was returned to prison. He was released again in 2004.
"This guy should have never been on the street," said Brian D. Wurts, president of the police union in Lakewood. "Our elected officials need to find out why these people are out."
Huckabee said on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" Monday night that Clemmons was allowed back on the street because prosecutors failed to file paperwork in time.
Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley, whose office opposed Clemmons' parole in 2000 and 2004, said Huckabee's comments were "red herrings."
"My word to Mr. Huckabee is man up and own what you did," Jegley said.
Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer also expressed disappointment that Huckabee placed blame on the legal system in Washington state.
"We're disappointed about Huckabee making comments about our criminal justice system and stated that we dropped the ball and that we have some problems out here. That was made at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning before he had any option of looking at court records or knowing what happened after that," said Troyer. "So that disappointed us, now that we've all looked at the court records. He went to jail out here, he made bail, and the tragedy occured. It had nothing to do with any ball that was dropped out here."
Clemmons was charged in Washington state earlier this year with assaulting a police officer and raping a child, and investigators in the sex case said he was motivated by visions that he was Jesus Christ and that the world was on the verge of the apocalypse.
But he was released from jail after posting bail with the assistance of Jail Sucks Bail Bonds.
Documents related to those charges indicate a volatile personality. In one instance, he is accused of gathering his wife and young relatives and forcing them to undress.
"The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus," a Pierce County sheriff's report said.
Officers Memorial next Tuesday at Tacoma Dome
A memorial to honor slain Lakewood Police Officers Mark Renninger, Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold and Greg Richards will be held Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 1 p.m. in the Tacoma Dome.
More than 20,000 members of the law enforcement community, emergency response agencies and the public are anticipated to attend. More information will follow regarding the procession and the ceremony.
The City of Lakewood has received numerous calls from generous residents, agencies and businesses wanting to help. Anyone interested in making a donation, volunteering or just wanting more information should email lakewoodmemorialservice@gmail.com.
Donations for the officers' families are being accepted by the Lakewood Police Independent Guild Fund at P.O. Box 99579, Lakewood, WA, 98499 or you can visit www.lpig.us for more information or to donate online.
