Four Police Officers Dead - and Huckabee's career?
 

Haven't had my morning tea yetr, so please excuse the crappy typing in the title.

After 4 officers killed, police tell area residents to stay inside

Lakewood, Washington (CNN) -- Residents of an east Seattle neighborhood were asked to stay indoors late Sunday as police searched the area for a man wanted for questioning in the fatal shooting of four police officers.

Authorities have not identified Maurice Clemmons as a suspect, but said they are looking for him as part of their investigation into the "ambush" Sunday morning at a coffee shop near Tacoma in Pierce County.

Authorities had been in the Leschi neighborhood since 8:40 p.m., blocking off streets and asking residents to lock their doors, said Seattle police spokesman Jeff Keppel.

Earlier Sunday night, word emerged that Clemmons, a convicted criminal with a long rap sheet, had a 95-year prison sentence commuted by then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.

Arkansas officials told the sheriff's office that Clemmons is the same person who received clemency from Huckabee in 2000, said sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer.

Huckabee, a Republican presidential candidate in 2008, is considering a run for president in 2012.

"Should he be found responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington state," Huckabee's office said in a statement Sunday night.

Clemmons, 37, of Pierce County has an "extensive violent criminal history from Arkansas, including aggravated robbery and theft," the sheriff's department said in a statement.

He also was recently charged in Pierce County in the assault of a police officer and rape of a child, according to the statement.

Troyer said Arkansas law enforcement officials had indicated that they were willing to forgo Clemmons' warrants in that state to avoid extraditing him if needed.

Clemmons was sentenced to 95 years in prison in 1989 for a host of charges, including robberies, burglaries, thefts and bringing a gun to school.

During a pretrial hearing, he hid a piece of metal in his sock, media reports at the time said. Before the start of another hearing, he grabbed a padlock off his holding cell and threw it at a court bailiff. He missed, and the lock hit his mother, who had come to bring him clothes.

Huckabee cited Clemmons' young age -- 17 at the time of his sentencing -- when he announced his decision to commute the sentence, according to newspaper articles.

Clemmons was paroled in August 2000, after serving 11 years of his sentence.

"It was not something I was pleased with at the time," said Larry Jegley, who prosecuted Clemmons for aggravated robbery and other charges in Pulaski County, Arkansas. "I would be most distressed if this is the same guy."

Huckabee's office said Clemmons' commutation was based on the recommendation of the parole board that determined that he met the conditions for early release.

"He was arrested later for parole violation and taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him," the statement said.

CNN could not immediately confirm the account. But the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper reported that a year after his release, Clemmons was arrested for aggravated robbery and theft.

He was taken back to prison for parole violation. But, said the paper, he was not served with the arrest warrants for the robbery and theft charges until he left prison three years later, in 2004.

His attorney argued the charges should be dismissed because too much time had passed by then. And prosecutors dropped the charges.

Clemmons is thought to have moved to Washington that year, and for a while ran a pressure-washing and landscaping business. The license for the business expired last month, according to the secretary of state, with which businesses have to register.

In recent months, Clemmons has displayed increasingly erratic behavior, the Seattle Times reported. In May, he punched a sheriff's deputy in the face, the paper said.

In another incident, he had relatives undress, telling them families need to be "naked for at least five minutes on Sunday," the newspaper said, citing a sheriff's department incident report.

Clemmons also believed he was Jesus and could fly, a deputy wrote, based on conversations with family members.

After serving several months in jail on a pending charge of second-degree rape of a child, Clemmons was released on bond six days ago, according to the Seattle Times.

Sunday's shooting was the first for the Lakewood Police Department, which was created five years ago for the town of nearly 60,000. Until then, the Pierce County Sheriff's Office provided law-enforcement services there.

Authorities identified the victims as Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39; Officer Ronald Owens, 37; Officer Tina Griswold, 40; and Officer Greg Richards, 42.

All four had been with the department since its inception. And all of them were parents.

The four officers were awaiting the start of their shift at a coffee shop in Parkland, a unincorporated community just south of Lakewood and about 10 miles from Tacoma.

The officers were in uniform and had marked patrol cars parked outside.

The shop on Steele Street is a popular hangout for law enforcement officers and is one of 22 Forza Coffee Co. locations in Washington.

"As a retired police officer, this senseless shooting hits extremely close to home to me," Brad Carpenter, chief executive officer of Forza, said in a statement on the company's Web site.

The attack occurred without warning, and investigators have not come up with possible motives.

The shooter walked past the officers to the counter as if to order coffee before he pulled the gun out of his coat and opened fire at 8:15 a.m., the sheriff's office said.

Two of the officers were "executed" as they sat at a table, said Troyer, the sheriff's spokesman.

Another was shot when he stood up and the fourth was shot after struggling with the gunman all the way out the door, Troyer said.

Two baristas and other customers inside the shop were unharmed. "Just the law enforcement officers were targeted," Troyer said, calling the shooting an ambush.

"What happened in there wasn't just a shooting," he told reporters. "After, we believe, some of the officers were shot, one of them managed to fight his way with the suspect -- fight his way, wrestle, fight all the way out the the doorway until he was shot and died of a gunshot wound.

"There's also evidence that a Lakewood officer fired some shots, and we hope he hit him," Troyer added.

Investigators were checking area hospitals to determine whether the gunman sought medical treatment. A $10,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest.

Some tips have come in, and investigators are following leads, one of which turned out to be "an unfortunate hoax," Troyer said.

A Tacoma man called "multiple people" claiming to be the gunman, though authorities determined the man was lying.

"We lost a lot of resources and man hours on that," said Troyer, adding the man was arrested and now faces obstruction charges.

I really hope they catch that guy, rip officers.

The last thing I heard wa sthat police were lobbing shots into the house he was supposed to be holed-up in.

If he had not been sentenced yet, then he was not SERVING for a crime yet...... he was merely being held until he could post bail.

Poor writing. :lol:

i hope he flies off a cliff.

Tragic. I partially blame the media for this one though - there was a police shooting here about 2 weeks ago or so. The media went beserk over it - ALL day coverage of the funeral, consant news coverage of the shooter, etc. It was over the top. And while I'm not saying that the slain officer deserved the respect, I am saying that the loonies out there saw it as a chance to make the news in a big way. RIP the officers, comfort for their family and friends. This is a horrible crime and I hope they catch and bring the justice the shooter.

I sure don't see it helping Huckabee's career. Hurts it imho.

To the family and friends of these officers my thoughts are with you.

To the fvcktard that did this...:gofurslf:.

I just read where Huckabee came out Sunday and said he will most likely not run for President in three years. Strange timing.

Really ? I didn't see that but this HAS to hurt his chances if it's all true. The guy had a 95 year sentence commuted ? Geez. :wtfru:

Yeah I know..."but he was only 17 when he did this...blah...blah...blah..."

Well how did that work out ? :skep:

Nice spin. The criminal justice system was working just fine until the Huckster decided 11 out of 95 sounded about right. Willie Horton anyone?


That right there is a good enough reason to keep him in jail.

JC

I can also see a couple of DAs going down over this, in the next elections.

Absolutely !!

''

Yep but HE made the decision and that's what voters will remember when his opponent starts putting it in EVERY commercial. :idk:

Of course if he doesn't run it won't matter. :lol:

Huckabee's office said Clemmons' commutation was based on the recommendation of the parole board that determined that he met the conditions for early release.

Refresh my memory, where does "The Buck" stop again?

Perhaps if Huck relied more on the recommendations of the prosecutors involved in the case, and the original victims of this nut bag, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

JC

Agreed and I'm NOT a democrat...just sayin'. :lol:

Clinton







Hey SOMEONE had to say it :idk: :lmao:

Obama


(You're a couple of years behind on the neo-con playbook)

I have to give you something to constantly criticize :idk:

Don't worry. I'll find something.

Well they've lost him...he's NOT in the house they had surrounded.

He didn't have a realistic shot even without this, He should take the blame for this because that's his signature and you are responsible for what you sign, but this one was most likely a here sign this type of deal.

Which is why a politician has to have intelligent people on staff who follow your agenda, rather than having one of their own.

meanwhile - after an 11 hour standoff, they stormed the house only to find he wasn't fucking there. Armed and dangerous and on the loose.

Will someone please fix the damn misspelling in the thread title? It's killing me.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/tvtalkmonk...onkReturns.jpg

Hey, I apologized :p

The cops are looking to pin this on SOMEONE whether they have to pin it on this Clemens guy or not. So...until Clemens is charged and found guilty in court, Huckabee is in the clear as far as I'm concerned.

Well no kidding. However going by the article that stated this guy is the only suspect and had his 95 year sentence commuted by Huckabee after 11 years....IF he really killed these officers...yes I think his political career will be hurt. :idk:

If we find out the guy didn't do it then of course it won't hurt Huckabee.

It's an Obama conspiracy. Huck was the front runner for a GOP nomination in 2012, (25% vs. Palin at 23%). It would be much easier to run against a washed up Alaskan whore, than the Savior of Purity that is Mike Huckabee.

It wasn't easy though. Obama had to shoot those four cops, whilst wearing a Clemens disguise. No easy task, since Clements is much shorter.

Then he had to plant blood in Clemens's truck, which was found earlier today. He also had to have CIA agents pose as witnesses who identified the shooter as Clemens. Then of course there were the three or four people that heard "Clemens" (Obama) say that they should watch the news tomorrow, because he was going to "kill some cops".

The fact that Huck had already granted clemency to a guy who went on to rape and murder a woman (Wayne DuMond), and granted more prisoners clemency than the three governors before him COMBINED (including Clinton), is just a huge coincidence.

Mike Huckabee in two-thousand never. :lol:

JC

Oh, come on now. That can't be right. After all, Republicans are the party of law & order.

Alex Jones???

It could hurt but regardless the election if Huckabee runs will be on turn out. Everyone has their sides and will stick to it. Democrats will say that Huckabee researched the guy for years and decided himself that he was a good christian man showing that Huckabee hates kittens. While Republicans will claim he had no clue about him and was forced by Democrat moles in his office.

I'm sure he made the decision based on his advisers but probably should have looked into itmore. I don't know why someone with that many charges would even be brought up to the governor.

That covers the bases, but Independents deliver elections these days.

From what I've gleaned, Huck has a history of favoring clemency for those who have written to him personally. He didn't let 1033 felons loose based on advice from advisers, or anybody else. He's what I would call a pathological Christian. He can't help himself. What's that? You found Jesus, and you're sorry? Well ok then, off you go. Who am I to judge?

He ignored vehement pleas from the prosecutors of both the DuMond and Clemens cases, and as a result, five people are now dead.

That the fact that he's blaming it on "The System", just goes to show what a coward he is truly is. When you screw the pooch as bad as he has, you need to own it, and admit your mistake. At the very least, he could whip out some "I'm not perfect, just forgiven" bumper sticker philosophy to soothe the base, (I've got five bucks that says he'll do something to that effect in the next two weeks, any takers?).

For the record, as a personal savior, I'm all about forgiveness. The thing is, it's not for everyone. Anyone who can't figure that out, has no place in the White House, or a Governors mansion, regardless of their party affiliation.

JC

What do I know? I'm just a crazy "Liberal" who thinks violent criminals should actually serve their time.

JC

He's dead. They shot him this morning.

And did ya really think he was gonna live to see a trial for the MURDER of 4 COPS?

Nope. Not really.

Then I humbly rest my case

And huckabee should dig his grave. with a spoon.

Glad to hear the thug is dead...wish it would have happened before these 4 officer's lost their lives. Actually I wish he had just stayed locked up and served his 95 year sentence that he was supposed to. Even if that doesn't really mean 95 years...he still would not have been out yet. :idk:

You knew this dude wasn't getting captured, police were going to make sure they killed this guy.

Anyone found a story yet on how they killed him, if it was a gun battle or what?

Cop was investigating a stolen car, felt some movement behind him and it was Clemmons. He recognized him, ordered him to stop, Clemmons didn't stop so the cop shot him.

Its a damn good thing that cop didn't punch Clemmons in the mouth.

Good reason to take him down.

Yeah...they must have read the story on the Navy SEALS. :rofl:

*edit*...as Kaneman eluded to. :lol:

Hopefully no blood splattered from the gunshot wound onto the perp's lip...because THEN there would be hell to pay.

:rofl: I could see some members here running up screaming THE RULES...THE RULES !!!!

Attempting to care...

Nope, can't do it.

JC

Didn't read that thread or hear about this story until just now actually.

No doubt. They'll be along shortly proclaiming that it wasn't this cop's duty to be judge, jury and executioner.

I, like AMJesus Fucking Christ on Stilts, also don't give a fuck. They know this guy did it. BuhBye.

I quoted you but really just making a joke in general for all that had read it.


No argument here.

That's not my problem, it's the priority they put on these and the vengence they go after criminals with when cops get murdered vs ordinary citizens. I more or less want to have the ability to go kill my friends and families muderers if they can do the same and get away with it. :lol:

I bet the in car camera was "malfunctioning". ;)

I'm glad the cop killed him. Saves the tax payers money and one dead bad guy, win-win. Doesn't help the family of the 4 dead officers though. Not sure a trial and a death sentence would have helped them have closure.

Now what would really suck, would be finding out that he was rat-bag insane, but didn't do it.

Thats the ONLY drawback I see in him being killed in all this.

Horton hears a Huckabee.

He was claimed to have one of the dead officer's hand gun on him at the time of his death.

Huckabee explained himself on the Factor last night. His part was a sentence reduction (not clemency, I think they called it commutation??) when the kid was 16 years old, which was also requested by a judge and a parole board.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda doesn't really fly with me, esp. at a young age.

Are you making this up? It happened in 1989 according to Huckabee on Fox last night. The rapings were not even done yet....

LOL...while I think the cop probably shot the guy regardless if he was holding a weapon, oh well. No trial...

Two different cases, same result.

DuMond was in prison for rape. Huck let him out, soon after becoming Governor. DuMond then went on to rape and kill a woman, after his early release.

Huck: 1

People: 0

Clemens was let out by Huck, despite the strong recommendations of the prosecutor in the case. He went on to kill four cops.

Huck: 5

People: 0

Cops then shot Clemens.

Final Score:

Huck: 5

People: 1

Game Over.

JC

Well he wasn't let out by Huckabee, he reduced his sentence from 100 or so years to I think 45. Though I disagree with it, I don't believe Huckabee did too much wrong. Clemmons still had to go through a parole board which has more than 1 person on it and is the final decision. I also believe they have psychologists and input from others about wether they feel that man is capable of not being a threat to society. They got it wrong but I don't think Huckabee is anywhere near the main blame. There are violent felons who are let out and don't cause any problems once they let out. This one did and in a bad way.

I'm glad he's dead and I hope the only people who are hung out to dry in this are the family members who hid him and maybe future governors learn a lesson from what Huckabee did.

I disagree. In fact, I disagree with the entire idea of clemency, barring extreme circumstances. There was no new evidence is this guy's case. No startling revelations. The parole board and the Judge didn't petition on his behalf, as far as I know. They simply walked through the door that Huck opened.

It would seem to me, that the Governor of a state as screwed up as Arkansas, would have better things to worry about than the salvation of violent criminals.

"Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley, whose office opposed Clemmons' parole in 2000 and 2004, said Huckabee created a flaw in the Arkansas justice system by freeing the number of prisoners he did.

"(Clemmons) should have stayed locked up like the jury wanted him and we wouldn't even be having this discussion," Jegley said.

"I just have been figuratively holding my breath and hoping something like this wouldn't happen," Jegley said. "I just think that a lot of the people that were subjects of clemency during that period of time were some very dangerous people who didn't need to be let out."

Bingo.

JC

That is not what they said last night. Huckabee told Fox News the prosecutor never even petitioned to keep the guy in jail. Take it for what it's worth.

He said on avg. they recieve 1200 cases a year. That is a shit load to go over. It was his job to review each and every one that was brought before him.

Someone is not telling the truth....

It's worth dick. Huckabee is a paid commentator on Fox. How fucking dim are, nevermind... You heard it on Fox. What more do you need? Fuck the plethora of news sources available, stick with the one that mirrors your preconceptions. The safety of consensus suits narrow minds.


He wasn't very good at it, was he?


On that, we agree.

JC

BUT IT WAS ON FOOOOOOOXXXXXXXX!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

I think Huckabee is a pretty straight shooter..Fox or no Fox. He out of most politicians hasn't had any "oh shit they found out" moments that I can think of. I would believe Huckabee over some prosecutor anyday.

Really? What the fuck do you call this?


You'd also believe a talking bush if it was on fire, so...

JC

This isn't an oh fuck moment. He reduced his sentence based on the information presented at the time, no more. You cannot hold people responsible for others actions that may occur in the future. You may think so, but the only one to blame in this tragedy is the dead guy.

Hmmm.

I could have sworn it was a failure of the criminal justice system.

I heard it on Fox.

JC

If you are a liberal...its the fault of the crimminal justice system.

If you are a conservative...its the fault of the crimminal.

That's usually how it works.

And if you're a realist, it's because bureaucracy failed and turned a dangerous man loose on the citizenry.

How is it that I'm the one who smokes all the pot, and you're the one with the short-term memory?

It just doesn't seem fair.

JC

The bureaucracy was not different in this case which is what I'm trying to tell you.

Huckabee reduced his sentence from 109 years to 47 years because it was excessive. Then, he was eligible for parole. 109 years for robbery and assualt IS excessive. I agree.

Then, when on parole, he commited another felony and the bail was set at 15k. The 15k was the "norm" for the crime he had commited based on past cases (as stated by an attorney who appeared on Fox). He met the bail amount and then wacked the four cops.

The system was doing what the system always does. No more or no less. You may not agree now and may think the bail was set too low, but that WAS the norm under the circumstances.