Maurice Clemmons

Mass Murderer

Maurice Clemmons and the 2009 Lakewood Police Officer Murders

Overview

Maurice Clemmons was responsible for the November 29, 2009, ambush murders of four Lakewood Police Department officers inside a coffee shop near Tacoma, Washington. The officers were seated together before beginning their shifts when Clemmons entered the business and opened fire without warning. The attack was deliberately directed at uniformed law-enforcement officers rather than being the result of a robbery, argument, or spontaneous confrontation. The killings occurred at approximately 8:15 a.m. inside the Forza Coffee Company shop at 11401 Steele Street South in Parkland, an unincorporated community in Pierce County. Sergeant Mark Renninger and Officers Ronald Owens, Tina Griswold, and Greg Richards were using their department laptops and discussing their work when Clemmons approached them with a handgun. All four officers were wearing uniforms, protective vests, and duty weapons, but the sudden nature of the attack left them almost no opportunity to defend themselves.

The Victims

• Sergeant Mark Renninger, 39 Killed on November 29, 2009, at the Forza Coffee Company shop in Parkland, Washington. Renninger was an experienced law-enforcement officer and a supervisor with the Lakewood Police Department.
• Officer Ronald Owens, 37 Killed on November 29, 2009, at the Parkland coffee shop. Owens reportedly attempted to rise and respond as the shooting began but was fatally wounded.
• Officer Tina Griswold, 40 Killed on November 29, 2009, while seated with her colleagues inside the coffee shop. She had served with the Lakewood Police Department since the agency was established.
• Officer Greg Richards, 42 Killed on November 29, 2009, at the same location. Although mortally wounded, Richards drew his service weapon and shot Clemmons in the abdomen before dying.

Background of Maurice Clemmons

Maurice Clemmons was born on February 6, 1972, and spent much of his adult life moving through the criminal-justice system. His record began in Arkansas when he was a teenager and eventually included convictions involving burglary, robbery, theft, weapons, and other violent conduct. Multiple sentences imposed in Arkansas totaled more than a century of imprisonment, although the practical length of his incarceration was later reduced. In 2000, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee commuted part of Clemmons's lengthy prison sentence, making him eligible for consideration by the state parole board. The commutation did not itself free him, but the parole board subsequently approved his release. Clemmons continued to encounter legal problems after leaving prison and was returned to custody more than once for additional offenses and parole violations. Clemmons eventually moved to Washington state. In the months before the Lakewood murders, he faced serious criminal accusations, including allegations that he assaulted a Pierce County sheriff's deputy and sexually assaulted a child. He was jailed while those cases were pending but was released after a bail bond was posted on November 23, 2009, less than one week before the coffee-shop attack. ...

Confirmed Victims: (4)

Tina Griswold 40 yr old Female

2009 Lakewood shooting - Wikipedia