Lakewood, Washington (CNN) — Four Lakewood police officers were fatally shot Sunday in what police said was an ambush in a coffee shop.
The officers were sitting in the coffee shop before the start of their shifts, reading on their computers, when the shooting occurred, Sheriff’s Department spokesman Ed Troyer said. Authorities believe the officers were meeting and going over cases or doing paperwork, he said.
A gunman came inside and shot all four officers, Troyer said. Two coffee shop employees and other customers inside the shop were unharmed, said Troyer, who said the shooting “was a targeted, selected ambush.”
“As you can imagine, they are traumatized,” he said of those inside the coffee shop. “Some are in shock.”
Families of the officers have been notified, Troyer said. All of the officers — three males and a female — were in uniform, wearing vests and had marked patrol cars parked outside, he said.
A $10,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest, Troyer said.
One of four police officers killed in an ambush at a coffee house Sunday fought with the gunman and may have wounded him before the officer died just outside the doorway, a sheriff’s spokesman said.
Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer told reporters that investigators were asking area medical providers to report any people wounded by gunshots.
Troyer said investigators believe two of the officers were shot dead while sitting in the shop, and a third was killed after standing up. The fourth apparently struggled with the gunman out the doorway and “gave up a good fight,” getting off a few shots before he was either shot there or succumbed to earlier wounds.
Update:
Troyer said authorities are seeking Maurice Clemmons, 37, of Pierce County as part of their investigation, though he did not identify Clemens as a suspect.
“We believe he is intentionally avoiding us,” Troyer said, identifying Clemmons as a “person of interest.”
Clemmons has “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 for assaulting a police officer and the rape of a child, according to the statement.
This is a really sad event.
Even sadder is the pitiful reward of $10,000. They may as well offer a used car, or pay your mortgage for 4 months.
“reading on their computers”
With the death of these people, the English language was also massacred.
Bleep! Cops must be dirt cheap with the social status of rats in that community not to offer more than $10,000 measly dollars after a professional hit takes out four!
Please note somebody didn’t waste time shooting bullet proof vests nor did they do much missing.
Maybe the shooter is on video? Most store video stinks but it would sure beats nothing.
Very close to the Canadian border.
$10,000?
Reminds me of that story a few years back when an off-duty cop ran over a kid, whom had to have both legs amputated as a result, only received a $150 fine as a consequence. Cuts both ways.
So much for the claim that carrying a gun makes you safer.
re: #6 fpp2002…. the gun lobbyists can’t understand what you just wrote.
I think the professional hitpeople have worked out the flaw in the bulletproof vests, aim for the head.
#4 It’s about 40 miles south of Seattle (and Tacoma) near McChord Air Force Base and Fort Lewis.
I’m sure this warms the heart of the average dvorak.org/blog cop hater.
#4 – sargasso – Very close to the Canadian border.
Yeah, blame Canada.
#6 a pro can easily get multiple shots off in an ambush or surprise attack situation before someone can react and pull a gun from a holster. However, sine none of us were there to see exactly how this went down, all of this is piss in the wind.
Four Police Officers Shot Dead in
CoffeeDonut Shop/FTFY
#6:
“So much for the claim that carrying a gun makes you safer.”
Yeah, but it didn’t make them *less* safe, which is always the argument.
This is incredibly f’ed up. To make it worse, people are going to sit on here and badmouth cops. Christ I hate the average Dvorak Blog reader, go die in a hole somewhere.
>> brm said, on November 29th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
>>> #6: “So much for the claim that carrying a gun makes you safer.”
It’s the dirty secret that the gun and ammo industry don’t want you to know: guns SUCK for self-defense.
They are FANTASTIC for proactive killing but not-so-hot at keeping yourself from getting killed. So — bottom line — the NRA is working for the advantage of the killers, not the citizens.
>> Yeah, but it didn’t make them *less* safe, which is always the argument.
Who makes that argument? I don’t.
I _do_ say that a society cock-full of unregulated guns is less safe.
… in the spirit of fairness, I should add that I doubt gun control would have prevented this.
This seems like a pro or ex-military or similar. I mean, _maybe_ it was an amateur or dumb gang banger who got lucky but not likely.
I also don’t want to sound glib… this is a tragedy of the first order.
#16. Fortunately, you don’t get to decide whether I can possess a firearm or not. The Bill of Rights does. Gee. Why do you think that is??
The $10k reward is because this just happened a few hours ago. Calm down folks. I know this is the age of “instant” and 24/7 media, but the reward fund for these tips is driven by contributions mostly (from other officers and public). By next week if not solved, it will be $50k to $100k. Same thing happened with a Seattle officer killed a few weeks ago. Take a pill and relax. Just because we can hear about everything 10 seconds after it happens on the internet doesn’t make EVERYTHING instant.
>> Father said, on November 29th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
>> “reading on their computers”
>> With the death of these people, the English language was also massacred.
Are you so sure about that?
You don’t read a computer like you read a newspaper.
You can read a newspaper article _on_ your computer.
Why would it be incorrect to shorten that sentence to “read on a computer”?
Or am I missing something?
>> Jägermeister said, on November 29th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
>> I’m sure this warms the heart of the average dvorak.org/blog cop hater.
What a load of crap thing to say.
Shame on you for shamelessly using this tragedy to take a cheap shot like that.
#6: “So much for the claim that carrying a gun makes you safer.”
Yes, carrying gun does make you safer and it sounds like one cop may have got some shots off. If he had no gun that he couldn’t get any off.
Actually, if one of the other people in the coffee shop had a gun they could have helped the cops being shot instead of just having to watch, hide and hope they’re not next.
You still haven’t learned from the Virgina Tech shooting. Cops are only there to clean up the mess after the fact. They very rarely prevent it from happening.
I’m also surprised that most posters here aren’t saying the cops deserve it. Most of the other posts here are calling cops fascist, racist, who like to beat everyone they see.
I feel for most cops who have to put up with all the shit they do day in and day out. Don’t get me wrong some are dicks and a very few most like deserve Jail time. But none deserve this that I can think of. I hope they catch this/these bastards soon.
Payback, KGB style.
If there is a bright side to this, here are 4 people that won’t be tasering innocent, elderly, minor or handcuffed victims.
As far as owning a gun – next time your house gets broken into while you are home, call 911 and make your guests a sandwich while they ransack your house- the cops will be awhile. Having a blaster piece on hand is a wonderful deterrent and then the cops can come in a taser the home owner by mistake.
#21 – Greg Allen – Shame on you for shamelessly using this tragedy to take a cheap shot like that.
So, today’s the day, not to hate cops for our dear cop hating friends here at dvorak.org/blog? GFY.
The shooter should have switched to decaf.
“We switched this Bi-polar man’s coffee, let see if he notices.”
Greg:
Reading “on” the computer conjures images of someone placing his eyeball in contact with (on) the screen.
“Reading ‘from’ their computers” more closely matches standard usage. I’d also be happy with “…reading their computers.”
#28 – Father, it sounds like their eyeballs may actually have touched the screen.
I can’t read my computer. Lately it’s been unusually emotional.