Come Together

Photo by jill russell

SALUTE. Two local police officers salute the ambulances carrying the bodies of the four fallen Lakewood Police officers from the Pierce County medical examiner’s office on Dec. 1.

Information being released is providing more detail into the fatal shootings on Nov. 29 of four Lakewood Police Department officers – Mark Renninger, Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold and Greg Richards. It also describes the final days of life of their killer, Maurice Clemmons, and those he interacted with before and after the shootings.

On Nov. 28 Clemmons told his half-brother Rickey Hinton and two friends, half-brothers Eddie and Douglas Davis, about his intention to kill police officers. He also obtained keys to a white pickup truck, according to information from Pierce County Prosecutors Office.

At approximately 8:15 a.m. on Nov. 29 Clemmons entered the Forza coffee shop on South Steele Street in Parkland. He shot Griswold and Renninger in the head and Owens in the neck. Richards got off one shot that struck Clemmons in the torso before Clemmons fired a shot that killed him.

He walked to the pickup. It was later found abandoned in a parking lot on Pacific Avenue in Parkland.

Clemmons went to Hinton’s home, then to the home of the Davis brothers. They took him to a female relative’s home in Algona, where they tended to his wounds.

By this time news of the shooting was getting widespread media coverage. Champions Center, a church on Tacoma’s East Side, held a candlelight vigil that was attended by several hundred people.

Another woman drove Clemmons to Seattle, where he met a female friend who provided more assistance. Seattle officers nearly caught him as they staked out the home of an aunt that evening.

The manhunt continued in various locations in Seattle on Nov. 30.

A Seattle officer investigating a stolen vehicle parked on a street encountered Clemmons, who pulled a gun, according to police records. The officer fatally shot Clemmons on Dec. 1.

Officers are continuing to arrest suspects who are believed to have assisted Clemmons. Currently in custody in Pierce County jail are the Davis brothers, Hinton, Letrecia Nelson, Quiana Williams and Darcus Allen. On the afternoon of Dec. 2 Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist asked the court to hold Nelson and Williams for 72 hours while the investigation continues.

Douglas and Eddie Davis have been charged with rendering criminal assistance in the first degree and are being held on $500,000 and $700,000 bail, respectively. Hinton was in custody on a 72-hour hold while the investigation continues. His bail was set at $2 million.

Allen is being held here as a fugitive from the state of Arkansas, where he is wanted for charges of aggravated robbery and theft of property as well as probation violations.

“We are all relieved to have the killer Maurice Clemmons off the street, but there is still work to be done. We will not rest until everyone who assisted the killer, in any way, is brought to justice,” Lindquist said.

Mayor Bill Baarsma addressed the tragedy at the start of the Tacoma City Council meeting on Dec. 1. “We extend our condolences and heartfelt sympathy to their families and the community,” Baarsma said. “They are grieving and we grieve with them.”

A memorial for the four slain officers will be held in Tacoma Dome at 1 p.m. on Dec. 8. The event is open to the public. There will be no parking available to the public, as it will be reserved for law enforcement personnel from around the region who will attend. Members of the public are advised to walk or use public transportation to get there.

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