Suspect in officer killings eludes law in Seattle
November 30th, 2009 . by TexasFredSuspect in officer killings eludes law in Seattle
SEATTLE (AP) - A heavily armed SWAT team stormed a Seattle home Monday where they thought they had cornered the suspect in the slaying of four police officers at a coffee shop, only to find out that he was not in the house and still on the loose.
The discovery added new urgency to the manhunt for Maurice Clemmons as police canvassed the neighborhood with search dogs and hundreds of officers were deployed around Seattle for any sign of the suspect. Authorities put up a $125,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Police had been positioned overnight at a Seattle home where they thought Clemmons was holed up and spent hours trying to communicate with him, using loudspeakers, explosions and even a robot sent into the house. But when the SWAT team went inside, he was nowhere to be found.
Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said the location of Clemmons was not known, and it’s possible he still could be in the neighborhood. Troyer also said people who know Clemmons told investigators he had been shot in the torso in his bloody struggle with the officers.
Full Story Here:
Suspect in officer killings eludes law in Seattle
I KNOW how the law works in the United States so before ANY bleeding heart goes off on the *innocent until proven guilty* thing, I am NOT indicting Maurice Clemmons. I am simply saying, if he did it, if he shot and killed those 4 officers, I hope he bleeds to death from the wound that the MSM is claiming he suffers. Just sayin’…
“If he didn’t get a ride out of there, he could still be in the area,” Troyer said.
Can you imagine the possible fate of an unsuspecting good Samaritan that did try to help a monster like Clemmons?
Troyer said warrants for first-degree murder have been issued against Clemmons in the killings of the officers from the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood who were gunned down in a coffee shop on Sunday morning at the start of their shifts.
Now it sounds like Clemmons is a lot more than a person of interest. I have never liked that term, person of interest, it suggests guilt that may ruin a persons life unnecessarily. Just look at what it did to the life of Richard Jewell. SOURCE
If you can’t CHARGE them, don’t name them as a person of interest.
Clemmons has an extensive violent criminal history from Arkansas. He was also recently charged in Washington state with assaulting a police officer, and second-degree rape of a child. Using a bail bondsman, he posted $150,000 - only $15,000 of his own money - and was released from jail last week.
All of that, and he’s out on the streets.
In 1989, Clemmons, then 17, was convicted in Little Rock for aggravated robbery. He was paroled in 2000 after Huckabee commuted a 95-year prison sentence.
Huckabee, who was criticized during his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 for granting many clemencies and commutations, cited Clemmons’ youth. Clemmons later violated his parole, was returned to prison and released in 2004.
On Sunday, Huckabee issued this statement on his Web site: “Should he be found to be 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.”
That bright flash you just saw was Huckabee and his political future blowing up before your very eyes! I can’t speak for ALL Conservatives, but as for me, there is NO WAY I will support Mike Huckabee for any office now. I don’t believe in the commutation of sentences for violent criminals, and I won’t support anyone that does.
Again I say, to the family and friends of these officers, we are with you in mind and spirit, some of us just can’t be there in body, but our thoughts and prayers are coming your way, and for me, I am also praying that the monster that did this awful thing is brought to justice very soon.
“On Sunday, Huckabee issued this statement on his Web site: “Should he be found to be 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.�?
What the hell are you talking about huck?? The criminal justice system works just fine, it’s bleeding heart assholes like you that turned this turdscum loose on the public.
I’m with you on this “person of interest” is a puzzling term to me and I have never understood its meaning. Seems to be a catch-all just in case the party is shown to be innocent. My anger in this case is also directed at former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee—his track record on pardons and commutations is not stellar. There was another case sometime back, I can’t recall the details, where he goofed. This guy will be caught or killed or maybe just die of his wounds. I am somewhat puzzled by all those hours the police spent outside a empty house. Should it take 7-8 hours to determine a house is empty. Just a thought.
This obviously is a tragedy that could have been avoided had the bleeding hearts not gotten involved with the criminal justice system. A shame for the victims and their families. The perp needs to be shot on site, and made sure he’s dead before bringing him in. The LEOs know he did the crime; no need for a trial on this one. A trial would only be a soap box for the left. As for Gov Huckabee; seems like a decent man, but preachers IMHO aren’t well suited to be CIC. No way I would vote for him based on the decision he made to let this guy out early. That alone shows he’s not CIC material.
It wouldn’t have if I had been in charge…
Hello SWAT Team, saddle up, we’re going in HOT!!
Prayers to these officers’ families…
And also the hope that the orange jumped-suited murderer dies a slow, painful death on Mike Huckabee’s porch.
Another part of what isn’t pointed out when governors and PRESIDENT’s give clemency or pardons or commute sentences. Huge amounts of taxpayer dollars go toward trying these scumbags and giving them their “day in court”. They do psych evals (very pricy!!) sometimes paying “serveral people to do them”!!! The investigation and gathering of evidence represents many times thousands of hours done by dozens of personnel… VERY pricy again!!!! Then add the legal expenses for both sides and the court costs. For a Governor to negate all the professionals it took to lock up a scum bag and the expense incurred, well, it’s just plain arrogant and stupid in my book. Just like Congress doesn’t take time to read the bills before voting… I get the feeling Governors DON’T take time to read the transcript and review the evidence before granting a pardon or stay. Kind of taking on the role of God if you ask me!
whether this guy is the shooter or not, what Huckabee did was take away the life lesson of cause and affect; in other words, being accountable for one’s actions and behavior to those whose sentences he commuted. If this dude is the shooter, he can thank ‘Huck’ for cutting short his ‘schooling’. and expect to be short lived here on planet Earth. As far as Huck goes, he can keep going. He’s just another do-gooder politician who screwed up and now four patriots are dead. Huck’s middle name wouldn’t happen to be Hussien, would it?
Huckabee turned loose another guy back in 1999, Wayne DuMond, who went to Missouri and raped and killed a young woman there. Its beginning to look like Arkansas’s main export is murder via Huckabee. Not fit to be president, not now and not in 2012.
First of all, my heart goes out to the families of the police officers who were killed on Sunday.
Just to be fair about all of this, Governor Huckabee did not release Wayne Dumond. The man had sent an application to the Governor’s office, requesting either a pardon or a commutation of his sentence and it was denied by Huckabee. His reasoning was that even though he believed Dumond should be releases from prison, he did not want to see it happen with a commutation. That would have left the man completely unsupervised. That is why he rejected the application and recommended parole instead. It was up to the parole board to decide what to do and they ultimately decided to parole Wayne Dumond.
What has happened in Washington is indeed a great tragedy, one that should never have happened. Governor Huckabee did commute the sentence of Maurice Clemmons, but he violated his parole and was returned to prison in 2004. He was later released. If it turns out that he is guilty of these shootings, it will highlight the weakness of parts of our criminal justice system and one of the weaknesses of Mike Huckabee.
Good point LD, the Wayne Dumond case was very complicated and I never intended to say his sentence as commutated by the governor, it was however blessed by him and the governor has great sway with the state parole board and they generally go along with his reccomendations. This case had many political overtones with the Clintons involved. I will still have to lay the release at the former governors doorsteps.
Huckabee is a bleeding heart do-gooder, he has NO business being the POTUS or VPOTUS.. He’s far too compassionate, that is the problem with having deep religious convictions in MY opinion… Once in a while you need a good, old fashioned believer that has NO problem with telling them to stick the needle in or throw the switch…
I don’t know.
You don’t know.
But it’ll all shake out in the wash.
Huckabee is dead to most everyone now.
BZ
Police found this killer in South Seattle and killed him in a shoot-out.
The 125,000 dollar reward did him in with his buddies.
He is dead. More info will come soon.
If I may be so bold as to quote myself,
He didn’t even make it 24 hours from when I said that.
Good on the Seattle law enforcement officers who didn’t dither like our president.
These murders should have never happened.
I feel terrible for the children right now without their dads or mom this morning…
it’s going to be a terrible Christmas for a lot of folks this year.
At first glance, I was ready to slam Huck, but upon further review, I’m not quite sure Huck did anything any other Governor wouldn’t have done. At the time, Clemmons was 17 and was sentenced to something like 108 years for 2 felonies. Based on the parole board’s recommendation as well as the Judge that presided over Clemmons’ trial, Huck commuted the sentence to 47 years which didn’t release Clemmons, but made him eligible for parole after 9 years. As the Governor, Huck did not have the authority to make the decision on his own.
I am not an advocate of early release because it robs the convict of the opportunity to learn accountability; but I’m not so quick to throw Huck under the bus for this one… yet.
To be clear though, I don’t like Huck, and see him as a liability to conservatism. He just needs to go away.
I’m wondering if there is a Muslim connection, since he spent time in prison and that is one of their top recruiting sites.
Nancy, there has been some *rumblings* to that topic, but as of yet, I haven’t seen anything other than speculation and I won’t make a post on speculation…
If someone can present me a factual article, from a credible source, hell yeah, I’ll blast this SOB and Islam all over the blogosphere…
Well,
along those lines, during a FOX interview this morning with the former prosecutor who originally tried the case, According to her, Clemmons claimed he ‘found Jesus’ in his first stint. That really doesn’t mean a hill of beans because he never changed his ways (repented). Also, he could have just as easily ‘found Allah’ during one of his subsequent stints, but I think this dude was just plain evil.