UPDATE: Police fatally shoot suspect in officer deaths
By The Associated Press
This article was originally published December 1, 2009 at 6:20 a.m. Updated December 1, 2009 at 3:03 p.m.
PHOTO BY AP / ELAINE THOMPSON
Sheriff's deputies look over a rifle they removed from a home where a suspect in the slaying of four police officers gunned down a day earlier was believed to have been, Monday.
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Maurice Clemmons
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. Four people were arrested for allegedly helping the suspect elude authorities during a massive two-day manhunt.
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 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.
“He wouldn’t stop,” Pugel said. “The officer fired several rounds.”
Clemmons also had sustained a serious gunshot wound from one of the four officers killed in the coffee-shop shooting.
Police planned to arrest more people who helped Clemmons.
“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.”
Three people were booked into the Pierce County Jail on Monday and early Tuesday for investigation of rendering criminal assistance on four counts of first-degree murder. They are Ricky Hinton, Eddie Lee Davis and Douglas Edward Davis. Troyer said a getaway driver also was arrested. That person’s identity wasn’t immediately known.
Troyer says Seattle police found Clemmons after Pierce County authorities supplied addresses of possible hiding spots.
Authorities say Clemmons, 37, singled out the Lakewood officers and spared employees and other customers at the coffee shop Sunday morning in Parkland, a Tacoma suburb about 35 miles south of Seattle. He then fled, but not before one of the dying officers apparently shot him in the torso.
Clemmons was allowed to walk the streets despite a teenage crime rampage 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.
Thank you for coming to the Web site of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. We're working to keep you informed with the latest breaking news.
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.
A psychological evaluation conducted in October found he was a risk to public safety, but not a bad enough risk to justify committing him, The News Tribune of Tacoma reported.
The confidential report acquired by the newspaper was ordered by a Pierce County Superior Court judge to determine whether Clemmons was competent to stand trial on the rape and assault charges. He was found competent and was released from jail after posting bail with the assistance of Jail Sucks Bail Bonds.
At the time of his arrest, he allegedly made “religiously-themed comments, told the officer President Obama and Lebron James are his brothers, Oprah (Winfrey) is his sister and referred to himself as ’the beast,”’ according to the evaluation.
Comments on: UPDATE: Police fatally shoot suspect in officer deaths
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HidyAphrodite says... December 1, 2009 at 7:18 a.m.
I suspected this guy's chance of surviving "capture" was iffy ... saving the tax payers lots of $$$ ...
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fjm347 says... December 1, 2009 at 7:23 a.m.
As a retired police officer, I would say
"" Justice Has Been Served ""
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charles_hillis says... December 1, 2009 at 7:49 a.m.
I agree with fjm347.
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HB4 says... December 1, 2009 at 9:08 a.m.
I'm against the death penalty but have a slight belief in karma......
.....looks like his came back pretty strong.
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rbyrne says... December 1, 2009 at 9:16 a.m.
Okay, yes Huckabee was the first to put him back out there and he needs to man-up about it. But this man was also was arrested and released three times in Washington. What were they doing or not doing? Someone dropped the ball and now four police officers are dead.
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IdahoResident says... December 1, 2009 at 9:51 a.m.
No need to say thanks, Arkansas. But shame on you for dropping the warrant on Clemmons, which put him in the position to make bail, then kill 4 police officers. You dropped the warrant because you didn't want to deal with him anymore, and this allowed you to push him off on us here out west. Well, he's nobody's problem anymore, the Seattle PD make that a permanent promise. And to Mike Hucka-never-bee-president, time to own up, to man up to your utter failure in the pardon of this predatory animal. Or show us that you're no man at all, like you're doing right now.
Admit you did wrong, but no need to say thanks to Washington state for cleaning up your mess.
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SensibleInTheMiddle says... December 1, 2009 at 10:11 a.m.
Bottom line is that if your wonderful ex-governor @uckabee and the Arkansas legal system had done its job then this animal wouldn't have been on the streets.
Clemmons wrote a "I found God" letter and @uckabee let him out. He had served only 11 of over 100 years of his sentence! Life in prison? WTF??? First mistake.
Less than one year later he was arrested and convicted again in Arkansas for the same kind of violent crimes. He was paroled less than four years later. Second mistake.
He was arrested and held here in Washington this year on a No-Bail Warrant from Arkansas for parole violation. Arkansas dropped the no-bail warrant without explanation. It is likely that someone in Arkansas decided that they didn't want him back there...It was Washington's problem now.
It took Clemmons four months to beg and borrow the money to make the bail that was set for him. By law here in Washington a judge can only deny bail to persons accused of murder.
Bottom line, if @uckabee hadn't let him out, and if Arkansas' criminal justice system hadn't kept him where he had belonged, then nine children wouldn't have lost a parent and we here in Washington wouldn't have to be sweeping up the garbage from your system.
I wonder what the reaction would be if Clemmons had killed four Police Officers on a Sunday morning in a Little Rock coffee shop?
I hope @uckabee can explain to God why he made his decision nine years ago. He hasn't explained it to anyone else. He's too busy on his book tour.
Pissed in the Northwest...
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smdon says... December 1, 2009 at 10:34 a.m.
A lot of fingers can be pointed. The bottom line here is that four families have suffered a great tragedy. Huckabee was wrong for the clemency, but the ultimate responsibility lays in the hands of the shooter. The legal systems in both Washington and Arkansas have spent countless hours and money working on prosecution of this nutcase. We need to focus on how to prevent the same thing from happening again, whether it's here in Arkansas, there, or North Dakota, or Colorado, or anywhere else.
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kcjenkins says... December 1, 2009 at 11 a.m.
The most obvious question to me is, why was someone with that record paroled THE SECOND TIME after serving less than three years of a ten year sentence? Less than a year after being paroled the first time, he's convicted of the same type crime, AND has a warrant for another one pending, gets sentenced to 10 years, and the parole board grants him release after only three years? Why that second release on March 18, 2004? Is anyone focusing on the failures of the parole board, or is it just so much more fun to focus on our famous ex-gov?
Was there no consideration for the fact that he'd been out on parole when he committed the new crimes? It seems to me that the justice systems of both states have a problem when dealing with repeat offenders. Can't we somehow balance the rights of the criminals against the right of society to be protected from those who choose to live a life-style as a predator, preying on law-abiding citizens? Both the AR system and the WA system seem to have operated in a vacuum, treating each charge as if it were the only one, over and over.
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roydspann_aol-com says... December 1, 2009 at 11:04 a.m.
You know I have wondered why it never came out about president candidate Mike Huckabee and how he had pardoned other convicts. This is NOT the first convict, who was pardoned by Mike Huckabee, to revert back and murder someone. Does anyone remember Wayne Dumond? He too was charged with murdering someone in Missouri after Huckabee released him. Hurray for Larry Jegley coming forth and telling it like it is. Huckabee needs to take the heat for allowing these convicts out. It has been reported that Huckabee pardoned more convicts during his tenure than did 5 governors did during their 8 years. Thats pethetic Mike Huckabee.....put that on your news program...
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spayNneuter says... December 1, 2009 at 11:24 a.m.
This scumbag was loose because of Mike Huckabee...who also paroled the rapist Wayne Dumond who then raped and killed a young woman. Justice has at last been served.
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kinggeorge says... December 1, 2009 at 11:28 a.m.
The reason a lot of prisons let perps out is because of overcrowding and it costs too much to keep them. However, the western states probably do not have this problem since those commenting from there would have one think the justice system is perfect, especially in Washington. Unless this has never happened in your state, you have no right to throw stones at Arkansas. Arkansas is always perceived to be an undesirable place until one visits here. Then they can't wait for retirement so they can move back and bring all their relatives! It is hard to find a native Arky in some towns. So lighten up. Those of you who are being super critical of Arkansas would be elated to pay the same taxes we do...and our state has surplus money.
How about your state? Chances are you voted for the biggest loser in history.
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Gaines says... December 1, 2009 at 1:19 p.m.
Now look at MrD, attempting to shift blame to Washington State. Typical Southern Right Wing mentality. He is even trying to blame Obama for this killing if he could get away with it.
So people want to retire in your state? What a joke. You must be talking about that Eric Estrada infomercial promoting some retirement community in the boonies. lol. Yeah, right!
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rpatton3 says... December 1, 2009 at 2:51 p.m.
What was his home town in AR?
I was wondering his age compared to Curtis Vance.
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Papa_Rick says... December 1, 2009 at 4:03 p.m.
Its obovious that the most people speaking out on this issue are LIBERAL. Therein lies the problem. Liberal judges and liberal prople in general are the reason the USA is in the shape its in. The death penaly for all of the loses in prison would solve the problem. Certainly wouldn't be any repeat offenders. Rehabilitation has never worked and never will. Now all of you liberal hotheads can jump on me if you choose. I can certainly stand the heat. P.S. Don't forget to call me names like you always do. Conserative Independant and very proud of it.
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Gaines says... December 1, 2009 at 7:42 p.m.
LOL! I would "jump on" Papa Rick except I could barely understand what he is trying to say because of his multiple spelling mistakes! What is a "Conserative Independant" huh?
You're either a moron or just uneducated. Which is which?
Liberal thought is what got mankind out of Medieval Times. If the human race stuck with "conservatism" (Please note correct spelling!), we would never have progressed from the Neanderthal Age!
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retlawdog says... December 1, 2009 at 7:54 p.m.
It is sad that the system failed on this one. As a former parole officer and retired police officer I can say that few states will be willing to allow Arkansas parolees (even the low risk types)to move into their states. G. David Guntharp and Barry Garland of the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections ought to be suspended and investigated for their refusal to administer their respective offices according to established policy and procedure. angela.stacy_arkansas.gov needs to know that Washington State requested that Arkansas take Clemmons back and that the DCC dropped the ball. See the following investigative article for details. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010398993_webwarrant01.html
All the finger pointing in the world isn't going to bring back the officers, however, we the citizens of our respective states ought to hold our elected officials, the administrators, and directors of the respective Correctional agencies accountable for a very grievous breach of the protocols that are meant to prevent tragedies such as this.
I know many wonderful citizens of the State of Arkansas and am looking forward to visiting again. But remember, all of us who have served on the "thin blue line" are all that keep dangerous predators like Clemmons in check. The punk that risks killing a cop wouldn't think twice about killing anyone else.
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jephthah says... December 1, 2009 at 8:59 p.m.
hey Arkansas,
lets give thanks to your then-gov Mike Hucklebuck. Such a wonderful guy -- a real 'tough on crime republican'. Too bad we won't see any more from him after this. He could have been Palin's running mate.
and then thanks to your current state correction system for refusing to honor their commitments to extradite your parole violators. i guess y'all didn't want to keep your end of the bargain and bring this guy back to your prisons to serve the time he deserved.
dont' think you can blame this on pierce county. they gave him the bail based the crimes he was charged with. they couldn't refuse bail after y'all reneged your warrant.
this is a nation of laws, you see. maybe you guys could get some folks down there to recognize this fact.
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retlawdog says... December 1, 2009 at 9:30 p.m.
I know that in the State of Montana, where I now reside, it is extremely difficult for any convicted felon to receive clemency or pardon. That is why we have appeals courts and supreme courts to review newly discovered evidence, prosecutorial error, defense incompetence and overly abusive sentencing. Clemency and pardon ought to be the last item on a governor's list of tasks to be handled. He or she has a system to handle the work load. I've read the documents submitted by Clemmons and the parole board to Huckabee and they were unanimous agreement that Clemmons receive clemency. Those folks ought to be held acountable for their poor judgement. One of the conditions of his release was that he leave the state - thus dropping the problem in someone else's lap.
Citizens in both Arkansas and Washington ought to be burning up the internet and phone lines to the Governors' offices demanding an investigation as to why this breach of the Interstate Compact Agreement occurred. As a retired police officer and former parole officer I can tell you that states are not required to receive parolees from other states and can demand they be returned if violations of their release conditions are violated.
There is a protocol that should have been followed and in the case of dangerous felons like Clemmons additional safe guards should have been built in. I would also call for the resignation of the Judge who let Clemmons out on bail for such a ridiculously low amount. There is not a police officer who won't be in contempt of his court when they appear.
Here are two helpful links in registering your opinion:
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/default.asp
http://governor.arkansas.gov/contact/index.php
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jim5car says... December 2, 2009 at 2:38 a.m.
Well, out here in the Seattle-Tacoma area we lost four police officers, who among them leave nine children, thanks to your former Gov. Huckabee and your current state parole dept.
It's interesting that the Seattle papers are publishing all kinds of emails, and other correspondence, showing how Washington State officials frantically tried to get Arkansas' cooperation in keeping this murderer behind bars, but Arkansas basically replied "he's in your state now, we don't want to bother". Looks like Arkansas likes dumping their trash in other people's yards.
Thanks a lot, Arkansas, for killing four of our finest...
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kinggeorge says... December 2, 2009 at 11:06 a.m.
Re: Gaines. Show me one word in my post that attempted to shift the blame to Washington state. When you show evidence that no parolee from Washington State has ever gone into another state and committed a crime, then you have a right to criticise. But I doubt you can see the logic in that. Your psychological profile suggests that you were absent when brains were passed out.
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rap2321 says... December 2, 2009 at 6:04 p.m.
Re: Mr.D. Without doing any research I will go out on a limb and state that No Washington State, for that matter ANY state other than Arkansas, parolee has ever murdered 4 police officers. This is no ordinary crime. As for your lauding Arkansas state budget deficit being so small. Arkansas is a welfare state taking in a $1.41 in Federal money for every dollar paid in Federal taxes. With that kind of Fed money pouring into Arkansas there should always be a surplus in Arkansas.
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rap2321 says... December 2, 2009 at 6:14 p.m.
Re: Relawdog. Here are the facts and details regarding all the bail issues for Clemmeons case(s):
Records of Clemmons’ spin through the courts reveal that he posted bail three times, for a total of $420,000 – in cash terms, that meant $42,000.
The first bond – $40,000 – was posted Sunday, May 10, by Aladdin Bail Bonds, after C
Parole officials in Arkansas had learned of Clemmons’ arrest and the charges, and issued a fugitive warrant for his arrest, tied to earlier convictions for aggravated robbery and burglary in that state. The Arkansas warrant, issued May 29, contained a no-bail provision, meaning Clemmons could be held without bail pending extradition.
On July 1, Clemmons was arrested and booked into the Pierce County Jail. He was charged in three separate criminal cases: the assault case from May, the child rape case and the Arkansas fugitive case.
On July 2, Judge John McCarthy tackled all three matters. He ordered Clemmons held without bail on the fugitive warrant, and set new bail bond amounts for the other two cases: $40,000 for the assault and $150,000 for the child rape charge.
“The biggest misconception is that I set bail in the amount of $15,000, when in fact I ordered that he (Clemmons) be held without bail on the fugitive case,” McCarthy said Tuesday, citing erroneous accounts in the national media.
Prosecutors asked for $200,000 on the child rape case. McCarthy set bail at $150,000. The prosecutor’s office has since said that the bail amount was unusually high, given the underlying charges. McCarthy agrees.
“I think anybody who works in this court would tell you the bail that was set in this case based on the charges was high,” he said.
At that stage, the bail amounts were a moot point, because of the Arkansas warrant and the no-bail provision. The landscape changed later in July, when Arkansas parole officials decided to rescind their warrant. That nullified the no-bail provision. Prosecutors in Pierce County were forced to dismiss the fugitive case on July 23.
That meant Clemmons was eligible for bail. He posted it July 24, with the Seattle Bonding Co., and left the jail.
Clemmons was arrested again in August, this time on a warrant filed by the Washington Department of Corrections, which had inherited parole supervision from Arkansas. This time he stayed in jail for three months while prosecutors ordered a mental health examination related to his competency to stand trial.
His next bail hearing was Nov. 12, before Judge Thomas Felnagle. Again, prosecutors argued for a $200,000 bond. Felnagle’s decisions mirrored McCarthy’s. He set the same bail amounts: $40,000 for the assault case, and $150,000 for the child rape charge. (Felnagle did not respond to a request for comment.)
On Nov. 24, Clemmons posted bail with Jail Sucks Bonds – the third time he’d bailed out of jail in seven months.
“He actually posted $420,000 worth of bail over the course of this deal,” Chushcoff said. “Most people can’t do that.”
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BillSmith says... December 3, 2009 at 8 a.m.
MrD says:"Arkansas is always perceived to be an undesirable place until one visits here. Then they can't wait for retirement so they can move back and bring all their relatives! It is hard to find a native Arky in some towns. So lighten up. Those of you who are being super critical of Arkansas would be elated to pay the same taxes we do...and our state has surplus money."
"Chances are you voted for the biggest loser in history."
All of the above has absolutly nothing to do with the topic.
But this right wingnut puts the spin on it and tries to involve Obama. Will they never learn that they can only fool some of the people some of the time.
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brneyedgirl821 says... December 3, 2009 at 10:40 a.m.
You can blame Mike Huckabee all you want but the fact of the matter is that the clemency board recommended the action. The governor's office bases their decisions on what the board finds and recommends. If anyone had a "crystal ball" and could see into the future, no one would have let this guy out but sadly that isn't the case. There are people let out of prision everyday due to overcrowding and clemency recommendations. Perhaps instead of playing the blame game, we should fight to get the laws changed and something done about prison overcrowding.
Also, where in the world do some of you get off bringing Obama into this. He had nothing to do with this and the only ones bringing him into the mix are those who are evidently far left extremists who jump at the chance to blame any and everyone for something they perceive as being done by those they oppose. Those are probably the same ones who are against the death penalty.
Sadly 4 officers lost their life and 4 families will forever live with this tragedy. Thankfully the scum that committed the crime got what he deserved and there won't be any bleeding hearts whining if he would have got the death penalty.
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spayNneuter says... December 5, 2009 at 12:57 p.m.
This tragedy is compounded by those who try to drag their own political view into it. Shame on those who want to use their deaths as a grandstand for such a purpose.
Four good officers are dead....and their family and friends heat-broken.
We should respect them by mourning what happened and working to insure that if you do the crime...you do the time...at least as to violent crimes and felonies. This is just the latest example..think about how many times you have read about a crime committed by someone who should have been in jail.
We need to worry a lot more about the rights of the innocent to go safely about their lives and a whole lot less about the "rights" of thugs and violent criminals.
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