4 cops shot in coffeehouse

[Sorry!]

Wow. Apparently this guy also raped a child... crazy $10 000 reward.

PARKLAND, Washington: A gunman burst into a coffeehouse Sunday and opened fire on four police officers as they sat working on their laptops, killing the three men and one woman in what an official described as a targeted ambush.

Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said officers were looking for one male suspect who fled on foot, but haven't ruled out an accomplice. It wasn't clear whether the officers even had time to draw their weapons to return fire, Troyer said.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-11/30/content_9076194.htm

PARKLAND, Wash. - A man with an extensive criminal past — whose 95-year prison sentence was commuted in Arkansas nearly a decade ago — was being sought Sunday as a "person of interest" in a deadly ambush on four police officers who were gunned down inside a coffee shop.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34194122/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

[russ_watters]

I hadn't heard there was a "person of interest" (and it is good that there is), but I figured that this was far too specific a crime for the police to not find the killer.

[Sorry!]

I hadn't heard there was a "person of interest" (and it is good that there is), but I figured that this was far too specific a crime for the police to not find the killer.

Yeah apparently the police believe he is injured but he's still 'at large'.

[rootX]

Wow. Apparently this guy also raped a child... crazy $10 000 reward.



http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-11/30/content_9076194.htm


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34194122/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

Is chinadaily really from china?

[Sorry!]

Is chinadaily really from china?

uhm I think so...

[206PiruBlood]

This just shortly after

A man sought in connection with the shooting of Seattle Police Officer Timothy Brenton has been shot by Seattle police in Tukwila, according to police.

Which could have been alot worse

King County sheriff's Sgt. John Urquhart said three detectives confronted the man in the parking lot of the apartment complex and asked to speak with him. The man turned and ran, bolting up an exterior staircase where he turned, pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the officers.

"For some reason, it didn't go off," said Urquhart.

The man then turned and ran again, with the detectives in close pursuit.

"They caught up to him after a relatively short distance, whereupon this individual turned again, presented the gun and was shot by the detectives," Urquhart said.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010220077_webtukwila06m.html

This is unfortunate as Seattle is generally a pretty safe place. Been alot of this the last few years.

[lisab]

This just shortly after



Which could have been alot worse



http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010220077_webtukwila06m.html

This is unfortunate as Seattle is generally a pretty safe place. Been alot of this the last few years.

Officer Brenton was shot on October 31st, and there is no known link between the two cases.

In this latest police shooting, the details are still coming out but it's horrific. Four officers were shot and killed, as they did administrative work at a coffee shop.

The alleged shooter is a career criminal; he was out on bail at the time of the shooting. His rap sheet is crazy long...I can't believe he was even given bail.

...latest news: police may have him holed up in a house in Renton (a suburb of Seattle, about 12 miles from where I am right now).

And yes, despite these latest shootings, Seattle is very safe. I've lived in this area for 20+ years, the only time I can remember being victim of a crime was when someone broke into my car at night at took all the quarters out of the ash tray (they left the dimes, nickels, and pennies!). Well the car's window wouldn't roll up so I couldn't lock it...I estimate the thief got away with about $3.00!!

[edward]

From the MSNBC link in the OP:

The manhunt came as authorities in two states took heat for the fact that Clemmons was allowed to walk the streets despite a teenage crime spree in Arkansas that landed him a 95-year prison sentence. He was released in 2000 after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted his sentence.

Shades of Willie Horton:surprised

[lisab]

Update: apparently he wasn't in the house in Renton. The police are saying that his friends and family are helping him, and purposely misleading the police investigation.

Sounds like there may be a *lot* of people going to jail, eventually.

[russ_watters]

Why "eventually"? They should just haul the whole lot of them in and lock them up until they catch the guy! If they are helping him, they are essentially aiding an in-progress crime!

[lisab]

Why "eventually"? They should just haul the whole lot of them in and lock them up until they catch the guy! If they are helping him, they are essentially aiding an in-progress crime!

Oh there's a bunch of them in custody right now, and it appears the police are going after more as I type. The cops mean business...more power to them, I hope they get this guy and anyone giving him aid.

But I meant they should face charges and serve time, if found guilty. "Eventually" because trials tend to take a while.

[Ivan Seeking]

Shades of Willie Horton:surprised

Yeah, I think Huck just lost the 2012 nomination.

[lisab]

Yeah, I think Huck just lost the 2012 nomination.

Quite possible.

If anyone's interested, the local paper is tweeting (http://twitter.com/seattletimes) about the search for the shooter.

[drankin]

Wow. Apparently this guy also raped a child... crazy $10 000 reward.


Currently, it is a $125,000 reward. According to tonights news. Time to go makes sum munny. *click-slide-click*

[gravenewworld]

Well, he's dead.

[Newai]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010392869_shootingjustice01m.html
Four days in May set stage for Sunday's tragedy

Over four days in May, Maurice Clemmons' behavior and mental state deteriorated. Family members worried he had gone crazy, that he was verging on collapse. His conduct became so erratic — punching a sheriff's deputy, forcing relatives to strip naked, according to police reports — that authorities eventually charged him with eight felonies, including one count of child rape.

Geeze. I'm glad I won't be directing his funeral.

[leroyjenkens]

I wish cops got this serious about every murder case. There's no reason why cop's lives are more valuable than anyone elses.

[Astronuc]

I wish cops got this serious about every murder case. There's no reason why cop's lives are more valuable than anyone elses. In my experience (I've known several police officers), they take every homicide seriously.

Just as with any hate crime, the officers here were specifically targeted because they were officers. I'm sure the response would have been the same if it had been another group of individuals who were specifically targeted.

Certainly, many police officers in many jurisdictions took very seriously the DC shooter who was shooting people at random in several states!

[seycyrus]

I wish cops got this serious about every murder case. There's no reason why cop's lives are more valuable than anyone elses.

I don't think that cops are any less serious about other homicides. I do understand how they might feel they have a vested interest in this particular one, the perp. was targeting police.

[mheslep]

From the MSNBC link in the OP:



Shades of Willie Horton:surprised

Yeah, I think Huck just lost the 2012 nomination...
Maybe, and he'll have to address freeing Clemmons, but the circumstances of Clemmons at his release time is a long way from that of Horton.

Horton: at the age of 23, commits a brutal murder during armed robbery, is sentenced to life in prison, but is later placed on a weekend furlough program. Gov Dukakis, through direct action of his veto, kept in place the program for 1st degree murderers thwarting the sense of the Mass legislature. During a furlough in 1986 Horton commits the crimes that made his case famous during the 1988 election.
http://www.newsmax.com/kessler/released_killer_romney_/2007/11/29/53111.html

Clemmens: at the age of 16, commits a string of aggrevated robberies, sentenced to 108 years. Gov Huckabee, citing Clemmens age at the time, commuted Clemmons 108 years to 48 years in 2000. After serving ~10 years, the parole board then set Clemmons free, for which Huckabee and the Ar. legislature are still responsible.
http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/arkansasblog/2009/11/maurice_clemmons_record.aspx

[206PiruBlood]

These are difficult times for law enforcement in the Seattle area.

Monday's shooting marked the third time in less than eight weeks that police officers in Washington state have been shot in the line of duty.

Four Lakewood officers were shot to death in a coffee shop as they did paperwork before their shift in late November. After a two-day manhunt, suspect Maurice Clemmons was shot dead by a Seattle police officer.

A month earlier, on Halloween night, Seattle Officer Timothy Brenton was killed as he sat in his patrol car. Christopher Monfort, 41, has been charged with aggravated first-degree murder.

"He knew the officers were coming; he intentionally hid, he waited for them to get inside, then he opened fire - at least 10 rounds - on both of them,"

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010591455_apwaofficershooting4thldwritethru.html

Apparently the gunman's daughter saw the initial shots and then jumped on him to effectively disable him.

[ideasrule]

Apparently the gunman's daughter saw the initial shots and then jumped on him to effectively disable him.

The relevant sentence:


At some point, she jumped on Crable and dragged him to the ground, keeping him from shooting the officer again, Troyer said.


...Crable got dragged to the ground by his daughter, then shot by the police

I call that an epic FAIL.

[lisab]

One of the cops shot on December 21 has died (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34615401/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/).

Here in the Seattle-Tacoma area, six police officers have been killed in the line of duty since October 31...so sad.