Washington Police Killings
How Clemmons Went From Prisoner To Alleged Cop Killer -- And Why It Matters For Mike Huckabee
Justin Elliott | November 30, 2009, 5:17PM
Seattle Police search for Maurice Clemmons 11/29/09; Clemmons and Mike Huckabee (inset).
How did Maurice Clemmons, once sentenced to 100 years in prison in Arkansas, end up a free man and the prime suspect in the grisly killing of four Seattle area police officers Sunday?
Clemmons' story begins with a teenage crime spree, winds through his years as a young man spent behind bars and the commutation of his life sentence by Mike Huckabee, continues with more years in and out of prison and the degeneration of his mental state, and finally leaves off today with a massive search for a man police describe as armed and dangerous.
The story carries potentially big political ramifications for possible presidential contender Huckabee, who is now trying to deflect criticism of the commutation to the state parole board. That's in part because Huckabee's effort to downplay his role in the Clemmons commutation echoes his response in the case of another Arkansas parolee who went on to commit a gruesome crime.
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Topics: Maurice Clemmons, Mike Huckabee, Pardons, Washington Police Killings
Washington Police Killings
Huckabee Cites System's 'Failures' In Response To Washington Police Killings
Justin Elliott | November 30, 2009, 9:53AM
Mike Huckabee and Maurice Clemmons (inset).
Mike Huckabee has responded to the killing of four police officers in Washington State by saying that if the suspect in the case -- a man whose sentence Huckabee commuted in 2000 -- is found responsible, "it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State."
Huckabee's statement, posted late last night on the Web site of his PAC, downplays any agency on the governor's part in commuting the 95-year prison sentence of Maurice Clemmons, who had been convicted of aggravated robbery.
As Josh noted on the editors blog, Huckabee previously faced another controversy about a prisoner who won parole, Wayne Dumond.
Read more »
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
clemmons on TWITTER???
Maurice Clemmons on Twitter: Is This Real?
Posted by Dominic Holden on Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 1:03 PM
Here's a brief (religious) stint on Twitter by someone posting as Maurice Clemmons this summer:
Can you fake the dates of a Twitter post?
Law-enforcement officials believe Clemmons has been sheltered by family, friends
Law-enforcement officials believe Clemmons has been sheltered by family, friends
Detectives have detained several of Clemmons' friends, family members and acquaintances — and could arrest and book many of them into jail for helping Clemmons elude capture, Troyer said. On Monday night, the Sheriff's Office launched a series of tactical operations targeting the homes of relatives and friends believed to be helping Clemmons, Troyer said.
By Sara Jean Green and Christine Clarridge
Seattle Times staff reporters
PREV 1 of 8 NEXT
TED S. WARREN / AP
Lakewood police officers become emotional at a press conference Monday. Four fellow officers were shot to death Sunday as they sat in a coffee shop.
KEVIN P. CASEY / AP
Seattle police SWAT members leave a house in the Leschi neighborhood Monday after finding no sign of suspect Maurice Clemmons.
ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES
An officer wearing a gas mask exits the East Superior Street home in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood. Police staked out the home all night.
CLIFF DESPEAUX / THE SEATTLE TIMES
The flash from the muzzle of a device used to flush out a suspect is employed in a search for Clemmons after an hourslong standoff late Sunday and early Monday in the Leschi neighborhood. No one was found inside the home, and the hunt continues for the suspect in the slayings of four officers.
KEVIN P. CASEY / AP
Schoolchildren peer out of a school bus as a police officer explains that their grade school is closed.
MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Members of the Seattle Police Department search Rizal Park, between 12th Avenue South and Interstate 5. Several operations to locate Clemmons on Monday came up empty.
MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Seattle police officers and an agent from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) search the Leschi neighborhood along Lake Washington Boulevard.
ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
University of Washington and Seattle police officers cross 15th Avenue Northeast after a futile search for Clemmons in Cowen Park. The park and some neighborhood streets were closed temporarily.
PARKLAND, Pierce County — Maurice Clemmons is likely desperate: He is believed to be armed, but he's running out of friends to help him stay ahead of police. And the gunshot wound to his gut probably hasn't stopped bleeding.
"It's unfortunate he's been a step or two ahead of us," Pierce County sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said Monday, nearly 36 hours after Clemmons is accused of executing four Lakewood police officers in a Parkland coffee shop.
But, Troyer said, the number of people willing to help him is dwindling fast.
Detectives have detained several of Clemmons' friends, family members and acquaintances — and could arrest and book many of them into jail for helping Clemmons elude capture, Troyer said. On Monday night, the Sheriff's Office launched a series of tactical operations targeting the homes of relatives and friends believed to be helping Clemmons, Troyer said.
He said police are going after anybody and everybody who is suspected of aiding and abetting Clemmons. He said they are conducting operations in several cities and at several sites.
"We think his network is running out," Troyer said.
Not only that, but eyewitnesses have confirmed that Clemmons was wounded in the shootings and that his wound was bleeding, Troyer said. Blood was found in Clemmons' white Chevrolet pickup, found abandoned in the parking lot of a Parkland grocery Sunday.
Medics and doctors who have consulted with police say an untreated gunshot wound can change dramatically in a day or two — either through blood loss or infection, Troyer said.
Every hospital in King, Pierce, Thurston and Snohomish counties has been told to contact police if a patient shows up for treatment of a gunshot wound.
But Clemmons, 37, remains a dangerous threat to police: Detectives have learned he has access to any number of weapons, including long guns, rifles, shotguns and handguns, Troyer said. He declined to elaborate.
"He's armed, he's wounded and he knows there are warrants for four counts of murder" that have been issued for his arrest, Troyer said of Clemmons.
Hundreds of tips
Since the ambush slayings of the four officers as they sat doing paperwork at a Forza Coffee Company store before starting their shifts Sunday morning, hundreds of tips have poured in from the public. After weeding out the crackpots and hoaxes, detectives actively are filtering through more than 350 tips, Troyer said.
Acquaintances of Clemmons also have told police that he told them Saturday night that "he was going to take out a group of cops," telling them to "watch the news," but they "wrote it off as crazy talk," Troyer said.
Investigators have faced plenty of frustration, disappointment and delay in their hunt for the gunman. One man called 911 Sunday and said he was the shooter — a bogus claim. Another man called his girlfriend and relatives, also claiming responsibility and asking for help to get out of the woods where he said he was hiding.
That man was booked into the Pierce County Jail early Monday on investigation of obstructing police. Lt. Dave McDonald of the Puyallup Police Department, acting as a law-enforcement spokesman, said that hoax cost investigators precious time and resources.
There was more frustration Monday as various tips and sightings in and around Seattle turned into dead ends: blood in a phone booth in Ravenna. Bloody gauze found in the middle of the street in the Chinatown International District. Police also searched Monday for a possible getaway car that reportedly belonged to Clemmons' wife, only to learn the vehicle had been sold two months ago. A Metro bus driver thought he had spotted Clemmons on a route in the University District, prompting officers to swarm the University of Washington campus.
Late Monday afternoon, Renton police, members of the Pierce County sheriff's SWAT unit and other officers surrounded a house in the 13000 block of Renton Avenue South. Though Clemmons wasn't in the house, officers questioned some of his relatives, according to a law-enforcement source. That relative also is suspected of helping Clemmons dodge arrest, the source said.
The search of the Renton house was the fourth tactical operation conducted by police Monday, Troyer said. Authorities were executing several search warrants, he said. He did not elaborate on the other operations.
Officers from agencies across Pierce and King counties — including members of two federal task forces — have gone to hundreds of locations, looking for that one tip that pans out, McDonald said. "We have to do it because one of them is going to turn out to be key," he said.
Close to Clemmons
Seattle police seemingly were close to capturing Clemmons on Sunday night as they surrounded his aunt's house in Leschi. Police have confirmed he showed up at the house on a dead-end street on a hill above Lake Washington — but Troyer said he suspects Clemmons saw officers rounding up people who had helped him get roughly 40 miles north of the crime scene and slipped away before the area could be contained.
"It was unlucky for us, lucky for him. But his luck is about to run out," Troyer said.
Clemmons has a lengthy criminal history, including at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. He was granted clemency by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee nine years ago over the protests of prosecutors. More recently, the ex-con was released from the Pierce County Jail last week, even though he faced eight felony charges, including a child-rape charge that carries a possible life sentence.
By 6 p.m. Monday, sheriff's officials had reopened Steele Street South and moved the flowers, balloons and stuffed animals that had been left at a nearby gas station and reassembled the memorial outside the Forza Coffee Company store where the four officers had been fatally shot.
Killed were Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39; and officers Ronald "Ronnie" Owens, 37; Tina Griswold, 40; and Gregory Richards, 42.
How crime unfolded
According to police and witnesses, the three officers and their sergeant — members of the same Lakewood patrol unit — were seated inside the coffee shop Sunday morning, their marked patrol cars parked outside.
Around 8:15 a.m., a man who has been identified as Clemmons walked into the cafe, passing the officers and a handful of customers to stand at the counter. A barista asked for his order, but he just stared at her. He opened his coat, and the barista, a woman in her early 20s, spotted a gun in his waistband. She grabbed her co-worker and ran out the back door as the man opened fire.
Two of the four officers didn't have time to react and were "flat-out executed," Troyer said Sunday. One officer was able to stand before being shot and falling to the ground. The fourth officer fought with the shooter, struggling with him and squeezing off a few rounds from his service weapon before that officer also was shot and killed.
Clemmons apparently dropped one handgun during the fight with the officer. The handgun was found by investigators on the floor inside the coffee shop, leading investigators to conclude that Clemmons was armed with more than one weapon, according to McDonald of the Puyallup department.
All four officers — regulars at the coffee shop — were in uniform and wearing bulletproof vests.
Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com
Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com
Information from Seattle Times staff reporter Charles E. Brown and Times archives is included in this report
Detectives have detained several of Clemmons' friends, family members and acquaintances — and could arrest and book many of them into jail for helping Clemmons elude capture, Troyer said. On Monday night, the Sheriff's Office launched a series of tactical operations targeting the homes of relatives and friends believed to be helping Clemmons, Troyer said.
By Sara Jean Green and Christine Clarridge
Seattle Times staff reporters
PREV 1 of 8 NEXT
TED S. WARREN / AP
Lakewood police officers become emotional at a press conference Monday. Four fellow officers were shot to death Sunday as they sat in a coffee shop.
KEVIN P. CASEY / AP
Seattle police SWAT members leave a house in the Leschi neighborhood Monday after finding no sign of suspect Maurice Clemmons.
ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES
An officer wearing a gas mask exits the East Superior Street home in Seattle's Leschi neighborhood. Police staked out the home all night.
CLIFF DESPEAUX / THE SEATTLE TIMES
The flash from the muzzle of a device used to flush out a suspect is employed in a search for Clemmons after an hourslong standoff late Sunday and early Monday in the Leschi neighborhood. No one was found inside the home, and the hunt continues for the suspect in the slayings of four officers.
KEVIN P. CASEY / AP
Schoolchildren peer out of a school bus as a police officer explains that their grade school is closed.
MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Members of the Seattle Police Department search Rizal Park, between 12th Avenue South and Interstate 5. Several operations to locate Clemmons on Monday came up empty.
MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Seattle police officers and an agent from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) search the Leschi neighborhood along Lake Washington Boulevard.
ALAN BERNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES
University of Washington and Seattle police officers cross 15th Avenue Northeast after a futile search for Clemmons in Cowen Park. The park and some neighborhood streets were closed temporarily.
PARKLAND, Pierce County — Maurice Clemmons is likely desperate: He is believed to be armed, but he's running out of friends to help him stay ahead of police. And the gunshot wound to his gut probably hasn't stopped bleeding.
"It's unfortunate he's been a step or two ahead of us," Pierce County sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said Monday, nearly 36 hours after Clemmons is accused of executing four Lakewood police officers in a Parkland coffee shop.
But, Troyer said, the number of people willing to help him is dwindling fast.
Detectives have detained several of Clemmons' friends, family members and acquaintances — and could arrest and book many of them into jail for helping Clemmons elude capture, Troyer said. On Monday night, the Sheriff's Office launched a series of tactical operations targeting the homes of relatives and friends believed to be helping Clemmons, Troyer said.
He said police are going after anybody and everybody who is suspected of aiding and abetting Clemmons. He said they are conducting operations in several cities and at several sites.
"We think his network is running out," Troyer said.
Not only that, but eyewitnesses have confirmed that Clemmons was wounded in the shootings and that his wound was bleeding, Troyer said. Blood was found in Clemmons' white Chevrolet pickup, found abandoned in the parking lot of a Parkland grocery Sunday.
Medics and doctors who have consulted with police say an untreated gunshot wound can change dramatically in a day or two — either through blood loss or infection, Troyer said.
Every hospital in King, Pierce, Thurston and Snohomish counties has been told to contact police if a patient shows up for treatment of a gunshot wound.
But Clemmons, 37, remains a dangerous threat to police: Detectives have learned he has access to any number of weapons, including long guns, rifles, shotguns and handguns, Troyer said. He declined to elaborate.
"He's armed, he's wounded and he knows there are warrants for four counts of murder" that have been issued for his arrest, Troyer said of Clemmons.
Hundreds of tips
Since the ambush slayings of the four officers as they sat doing paperwork at a Forza Coffee Company store before starting their shifts Sunday morning, hundreds of tips have poured in from the public. After weeding out the crackpots and hoaxes, detectives actively are filtering through more than 350 tips, Troyer said.
Acquaintances of Clemmons also have told police that he told them Saturday night that "he was going to take out a group of cops," telling them to "watch the news," but they "wrote it off as crazy talk," Troyer said.
Investigators have faced plenty of frustration, disappointment and delay in their hunt for the gunman. One man called 911 Sunday and said he was the shooter — a bogus claim. Another man called his girlfriend and relatives, also claiming responsibility and asking for help to get out of the woods where he said he was hiding.
That man was booked into the Pierce County Jail early Monday on investigation of obstructing police. Lt. Dave McDonald of the Puyallup Police Department, acting as a law-enforcement spokesman, said that hoax cost investigators precious time and resources.
There was more frustration Monday as various tips and sightings in and around Seattle turned into dead ends: blood in a phone booth in Ravenna. Bloody gauze found in the middle of the street in the Chinatown International District. Police also searched Monday for a possible getaway car that reportedly belonged to Clemmons' wife, only to learn the vehicle had been sold two months ago. A Metro bus driver thought he had spotted Clemmons on a route in the University District, prompting officers to swarm the University of Washington campus.
Late Monday afternoon, Renton police, members of the Pierce County sheriff's SWAT unit and other officers surrounded a house in the 13000 block of Renton Avenue South. Though Clemmons wasn't in the house, officers questioned some of his relatives, according to a law-enforcement source. That relative also is suspected of helping Clemmons dodge arrest, the source said.
The search of the Renton house was the fourth tactical operation conducted by police Monday, Troyer said. Authorities were executing several search warrants, he said. He did not elaborate on the other operations.
Officers from agencies across Pierce and King counties — including members of two federal task forces — have gone to hundreds of locations, looking for that one tip that pans out, McDonald said. "We have to do it because one of them is going to turn out to be key," he said.
Close to Clemmons
Seattle police seemingly were close to capturing Clemmons on Sunday night as they surrounded his aunt's house in Leschi. Police have confirmed he showed up at the house on a dead-end street on a hill above Lake Washington — but Troyer said he suspects Clemmons saw officers rounding up people who had helped him get roughly 40 miles north of the crime scene and slipped away before the area could be contained.
"It was unlucky for us, lucky for him. But his luck is about to run out," Troyer said.
Clemmons has a lengthy criminal history, including at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. He was granted clemency by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee nine years ago over the protests of prosecutors. More recently, the ex-con was released from the Pierce County Jail last week, even though he faced eight felony charges, including a child-rape charge that carries a possible life sentence.
By 6 p.m. Monday, sheriff's officials had reopened Steele Street South and moved the flowers, balloons and stuffed animals that had been left at a nearby gas station and reassembled the memorial outside the Forza Coffee Company store where the four officers had been fatally shot.
Killed were Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39; and officers Ronald "Ronnie" Owens, 37; Tina Griswold, 40; and Gregory Richards, 42.
How crime unfolded
According to police and witnesses, the three officers and their sergeant — members of the same Lakewood patrol unit — were seated inside the coffee shop Sunday morning, their marked patrol cars parked outside.
Around 8:15 a.m., a man who has been identified as Clemmons walked into the cafe, passing the officers and a handful of customers to stand at the counter. A barista asked for his order, but he just stared at her. He opened his coat, and the barista, a woman in her early 20s, spotted a gun in his waistband. She grabbed her co-worker and ran out the back door as the man opened fire.
Two of the four officers didn't have time to react and were "flat-out executed," Troyer said Sunday. One officer was able to stand before being shot and falling to the ground. The fourth officer fought with the shooter, struggling with him and squeezing off a few rounds from his service weapon before that officer also was shot and killed.
Clemmons apparently dropped one handgun during the fight with the officer. The handgun was found by investigators on the floor inside the coffee shop, leading investigators to conclude that Clemmons was armed with more than one weapon, according to McDonald of the Puyallup department.
All four officers — regulars at the coffee shop — were in uniform and wearing bulletproof vests.
Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 or sgreen@seattletimes.com
Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com
Information from Seattle Times staff reporter Charles E. Brown and Times archives is included in this report
Monday, November 30, 2009
Police: Family helping cop-killings suspect (Story Credit: MSNBC)
Police: Family helping cop-killings suspect
Authorities believe Clemmons still alive, but shot in the abdomen
 Marcus Donner / Reuters Seattle Police officers stand near the home where an all night stakeout took place Monday, Nov. 30. |
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 | Video: Crime & courts |
 Manhunt in Washington
Nov. 30: Rachel Maddow is joined by NBC News’ George Lewis who has the latest on the search for Maurice Clemmons, who is accused of killing four police officers. |
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updated 18 minutes ago
SEATTLE - Authorities believe the man sought in the slaying of four police officers is still alive and has been aided by a network of friends and family, a police spokesman said Monday night. Officers believe Maurice Clemmons was shot in the abdomen during the attack on the officers at a Parkland coffee shop, and had speculated he might have died.
But Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff, said investigators have questioned several people who had provided assistance to Clemmons since the Sunday morning shootings.
"We think his network of people helping him is running out." Troyer said. "He's probably on his own."
Police are also certain Clemmons, 37, was in a Seattle house on Sunday night, but was able to flee before police could contain the area. Police staked out the house overnight before SWAT team members determined early Monday that Clemmons wasn't there.
Clemmons has had access to handguns, rifles and shotguns, Troyer said.
"It's unfortunate he's been a step or two ahead of us."
Large reward offered
Monday morning's realization that the suspect had not been cornered after all prompted police to fan out across the city, looking for any sign of Clemmons. Authorities posted a $125,000 reward for information leading to his arrest in the Sunday morning shooting rampage.
The manhunt came as authorities in two states took heat for the fact that Clemmons was allowed to walk the streets despite a teenage crime spree in Arkansas that landed him an 108-year prison sentence. He was released early after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted his sentence.
"This guy should have never been on the street," said Brian D. Wurts, president of the police union in Lakewood, where all four slain officers worked. "Our elected officials need to find out why these people are out."
Police said they are not sure what prompted Clemmons to assassinate the officers as they worked on their laptop computers at the beginning of their shifts. He was described as increasingly erratic in the past few months and had been arrested earlier this year on charges that he punched a sheriff's deputy in the face.
 |
Pierce County Sheriff's Dept. via AP Lakewood Police officers Greg Richards (top left), Mark Renninger (top right), Tina Griswold (bottom right) and Ronald Owens (bottom left) were shot and killed at a coffee shop in Parkland, Wash., on Sunday. |
Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer told the Tacoma News-Tribune that Clemmons indicated the night before the shooting "that he was going to shoot police and watch the news."
Authorities said the gunman singled out the officers and spared employees and other customers at the coffee shop in a suburb about 35 miles south of Seattle. He then fled, but not before he was apparently shot in the torso by one of the dying officers.
Police later learned he may have been holed up at the house in Seattle. After an all-night siege in which they tried to get him out using loudspeakers, explosions and a robot sent into the house, a SWAT team stormed the place and discovered he was not there.
Police spent the rest of the day frantically chasing leads, visiting hundreds of locations as they followed up on tips, at one point cordoning off a park where people thought they saw Clemmons. They also alerted hospitals to be on the lookout for a man seeking treatment for gunshot wounds.
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University of Washington officials alerted students by e-mail and text messages to an unconfirmed report that Clemmons might have gotten off a bus on or near the campus.
Investigators also examined the coffee shop for clues. Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Dave McDonald said that authorities found a handgun carried by the killer, along with a pickup truck belonging to the suspect with blood stains inside.
Killed were Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and Officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42.
Community raliies at Forza Coffee in Lakewood,wa
LAKEWOOD, Wash. -- The harsh reality is sinking in for the owner and baristas of of Forza Coffee Company
Two employees were just feet away from the spot where four Lakewood police officers were murdered in an ambush-style attack Sunday morning.
On Monday, store signs conveyed sadness. Half-staff flags and flowers showed a community in mourning.
"We just want everybody to know we're feeling their pain," said local resident Michelle Bressler.
After four officers were gunned down, Forza, a coffee shop where you'd typically tap into the pulse of the community, began collecting donations for the dead officers' families.
"Mark, Ron, Greg and Tina all placing their lives in harm's way to save our staff and customers -- how do you say thank you?" said owner Brad Carpenter.
The Carpenters brought their staff together Monday morning to meet with a grief counselor. Even the two baristas who witnessed the shooting attended.
"I was impressed that they came and got out of bed this morning and came in, wanting to talk," said Cindy Carpenter.
Carpenter says the women were shaken by what they saw.
"Enough to leave imprint on their lives for awhile," said Brad Carpenter.
"Forza" translates into "strength," and the owners can't believe the strength their baristas are showing after the shooting.
"They're not going to allow this animal who did this to interrupt their lives and do this inside their store. They want to come back and reclaim it," said Brad Carpenter, who served as a Gig Harbor police officer himself.
So many people want to help baristas and the family members of the fallen officers. People from around the country are reaching out and offering their services. And coffee competitors are helping take donations for the families.
Forza will collect donations for the families through the end of the year.
"It's amazing to see what the community does to come together," said one staff member.
But the owners say there's no way to repay the debt we owe these fallen officers.
---
You can make a donation to the families of the fallen officers online
Two employees were just feet away from the spot where four Lakewood police officers were murdered in an ambush-style attack Sunday morning.
On Monday, store signs conveyed sadness. Half-staff flags and flowers showed a community in mourning.
"We just want everybody to know we're feeling their pain," said local resident Michelle Bressler.
After four officers were gunned down, Forza, a coffee shop where you'd typically tap into the pulse of the community, began collecting donations for the dead officers' families.
"Mark, Ron, Greg and Tina all placing their lives in harm's way to save our staff and customers -- how do you say thank you?" said owner Brad Carpenter.
The Carpenters brought their staff together Monday morning to meet with a grief counselor. Even the two baristas who witnessed the shooting attended.
"I was impressed that they came and got out of bed this morning and came in, wanting to talk," said Cindy Carpenter.
Carpenter says the women were shaken by what they saw.
"Enough to leave imprint on their lives for awhile," said Brad Carpenter.
"Forza" translates into "strength," and the owners can't believe the strength their baristas are showing after the shooting.
"They're not going to allow this animal who did this to interrupt their lives and do this inside their store. They want to come back and reclaim it," said Brad Carpenter, who served as a Gig Harbor police officer himself.
So many people want to help baristas and the family members of the fallen officers. People from around the country are reaching out and offering their services. And coffee competitors are helping take donations for the families.
Forza will collect donations for the families through the end of the year.
"It's amazing to see what the community does to come together," said one staff member.
But the owners say there's no way to repay the debt we owe these fallen officers.
---
You can make a donation to the families of the fallen officers online
Photos released (Credit:KOMONews)
A Lakewood city employee, who did not wish to be identified, brings flowers to the police headquarters. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Dean J. Koepfler)
Jenna Lemke and dog Sage pays her respects with flowers at the Lakewood Police headquarters. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Dean J. Koepfler)
Law enforcement officers search an area near the scene. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Law enforcement officers search a self-storage area near the scene. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Law enforcement officers search an area near the scene. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Law enforcement officers enter a self-storage area to search near the scene. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Daniel Zumini, of Tacoma, Wash., holds flowers as he stands near the scene. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Beverly Elhard holds flowers as she waits for a procession of police vehicles escorting the bodies of four slain police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A procession of police vehicles escorts the bodies of the four police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A procession of police vehicles escorts the bodies of the four police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Cassie McFadden, of Redmond, Wash., puts up ribbons at a makeshift memorial for the four police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Richard O'Grady, left, and Scott Krumbholz show their respect by hoisting black ribbons and an American flag at half staff. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
A woman, who did not wish to be identified, and her son, bring flowers to an area near the site where four police officers were killed. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Glenn Carlson of Tacoma reacts at a make-shift memorial. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Concerned citizens react near the location where four police officers were killed in an ambush. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Stephanie James, second from right, and wife of a Lakewood Police officer, wipes a tear during a candlelight vigil held at the Champions Centre.
Black Diamond, Wash., Police Officer Brian Lynch, left, prays while Enumclaw police officers Dustin Lobdell, with hand on Lynch, and Tony Ryan, right foreground, during a vigil at Champions Centre.
Black Diamond Police officer Brian Lynch, left, gets a hug from Lakewood resident Roberta Ladd as others in the crowd hug and share kind words with Police officers after a candlelight vigil at the Champions Centre.
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, Nov. 30, 2009, in the Leschi neighborhood of Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
A sheriff's deputy walks past shattered windows at a home where a suspect in the shooting and killing of four police officers a day earlier was believed to have been. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
A Seattle police officer helps block a street adjacent to a north Seattle park where police searched for a suspect in the slaying of four police officers gunned down a day earlier, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Lakewood Police Dept. officers, employees and family members and stand at a news conference Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Lakewood Police Dept. officers become emotional during a press conference Monday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Lakewood Police Dept. officers become emotional during a press conference Monday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Shaun Darby, right, and Curtis Filleau, both members of the Pierce Co. Sheriff's dive team, search a pond at the Willows Apartments, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, in Parkland, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Debbie Seelye, right, comforts Terry Roy, left, as they visit a growing memorial to four slain Lakewood Police officers at the Lakewood Police Dept. headquarters Monday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Seattle Police K-9 unit investigates an area in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Seattle police search under the I-5 freeway for the suspect in the killing. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Seattle SWAT team members leave in their vehicle from the area in Seattle where they believed the suspect in the killing. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Seattle police search Doctor Jose Rizal Park for the suspect in the killing of four police officers in Parkland, Wash. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
A Seattle Police officer blocks traffic as the search for the murder suspect. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Seattle Police dept. SWAT team members leave in their vehicle from the area in Seattle where they believed the suspect was located. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Two women, who declined to give their names, comfort each other, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, as they visit a memorial. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Diane Densmore leaves a stuffed animal at a memorial to four slain Lakewood, Wash., police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Schoolchildren look out the school bus window as a Seattle police officer explains the school is closed and the street is blocked because the suspect in the killing of four Lakewood, Wash. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Lakewood Police Dept. officers become emotional during a press conference Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Janai Roberts, 17, lights a candle in front of a growing display of flowers, candles, and messages of sympathy in front of the Forza Coffee Company in Parkland, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A growing display of flowers, candles, and messages of sympathy, is shown in front of the Forza Coffee. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Tiffany Carlton, right, and her son Ryan, 3, light candles at a vigil held in memory of four slain Lakewood Police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Amber Downard, of Lakewood, cries at a memorial site outside the Lakewood Police Department. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Lakewood resident Maureen Moffatt gives a hug to a Lakewood police officer. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Seattle police investigated this blood stain a mile north of the University of Washington campus and then searched the adjacent Cowan Park on Monday. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Peter Haley)
Seattle police gather as they search Doctor Jose Rizal Park for the suspect in the killing of four police officers in Parkland, Wash., Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
A house in Tacoma, Wash., which public records indicate was the last known address for Maurice Clemmons (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A Bremerton, Wash. police officer leaves a police patch at the Lakewood, Wash. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
A photo of the four slain Lakewood police officers is seen at the memorial site. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Eugene Jones of Lakewood prays for the four slain Lakewood police officers at the memorial site. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar talks to reporters, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, in Lakewood, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Roses and a keepsake that reads "The Thin Blue Line," are shown Monday at a memorial at the Lakewood Police headquarters. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Tacoma Police officer Don Nelson, right, comforts his wife Karen as they visit a memorial. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
PLU student Jon Wedell writes a message on a paper-covered table at a vigil held in memory of four slain Lakewood Police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Students Annie Norling, left, and Alex Schisel, right, pause at a vigil display of candles and flowers held in memory of four slain Lakewood Police officers, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, at Pacific Lutheran University. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Jenna Lemke and dog Sage pays her respects with flowers at the Lakewood Police headquarters. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Dean J. Koepfler)
Law enforcement officers search an area near the scene. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Law enforcement officers search a self-storage area near the scene. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Law enforcement officers search an area near the scene. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Law enforcement officers enter a self-storage area to search near the scene. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Daniel Zumini, of Tacoma, Wash., holds flowers as he stands near the scene. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Beverly Elhard holds flowers as she waits for a procession of police vehicles escorting the bodies of four slain police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A procession of police vehicles escorts the bodies of the four police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A procession of police vehicles escorts the bodies of the four police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Cassie McFadden, of Redmond, Wash., puts up ribbons at a makeshift memorial for the four police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Richard O'Grady, left, and Scott Krumbholz show their respect by hoisting black ribbons and an American flag at half staff. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
A woman, who did not wish to be identified, and her son, bring flowers to an area near the site where four police officers were killed. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Glenn Carlson of Tacoma reacts at a make-shift memorial. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Concerned citizens react near the location where four police officers were killed in an ambush. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Stephanie James, second from right, and wife of a Lakewood Police officer, wipes a tear during a candlelight vigil held at the Champions Centre.
Black Diamond, Wash., Police Officer Brian Lynch, left, prays while Enumclaw police officers Dustin Lobdell, with hand on Lynch, and Tony Ryan, right foreground, during a vigil at Champions Centre.
Black Diamond Police officer Brian Lynch, left, gets a hug from Lakewood resident Roberta Ladd as others in the crowd hug and share kind words with Police officers after a candlelight vigil at the Champions Centre.
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, Nov. 30, 2009, in the Leschi neighborhood of Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
A sheriff's deputy walks past shattered windows at a home where a suspect in the shooting and killing of four police officers a day earlier was believed to have been. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
A Seattle police officer helps block a street adjacent to a north Seattle park where police searched for a suspect in the slaying of four police officers gunned down a day earlier, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Lakewood Police Dept. officers, employees and family members and stand at a news conference Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Lakewood Police Dept. officers become emotional during a press conference Monday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Lakewood Police Dept. officers become emotional during a press conference Monday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Shaun Darby, right, and Curtis Filleau, both members of the Pierce Co. Sheriff's dive team, search a pond at the Willows Apartments, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, in Parkland, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Debbie Seelye, right, comforts Terry Roy, left, as they visit a growing memorial to four slain Lakewood Police officers at the Lakewood Police Dept. headquarters Monday. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Seattle Police K-9 unit investigates an area in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Seattle police search under the I-5 freeway for the suspect in the killing. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Seattle SWAT team members leave in their vehicle from the area in Seattle where they believed the suspect in the killing. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Seattle police search Doctor Jose Rizal Park for the suspect in the killing of four police officers in Parkland, Wash. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
A Seattle Police officer blocks traffic as the search for the murder suspect. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Seattle Police dept. SWAT team members leave in their vehicle from the area in Seattle where they believed the suspect was located. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Two women, who declined to give their names, comfort each other, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, as they visit a memorial. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Diane Densmore leaves a stuffed animal at a memorial to four slain Lakewood, Wash., police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Schoolchildren look out the school bus window as a Seattle police officer explains the school is closed and the street is blocked because the suspect in the killing of four Lakewood, Wash. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
Lakewood Police Dept. officers become emotional during a press conference Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Janai Roberts, 17, lights a candle in front of a growing display of flowers, candles, and messages of sympathy in front of the Forza Coffee Company in Parkland, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A growing display of flowers, candles, and messages of sympathy, is shown in front of the Forza Coffee. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Tiffany Carlton, right, and her son Ryan, 3, light candles at a vigil held in memory of four slain Lakewood Police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Amber Downard, of Lakewood, cries at a memorial site outside the Lakewood Police Department. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Lakewood resident Maureen Moffatt gives a hug to a Lakewood police officer. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Seattle police investigated this blood stain a mile north of the University of Washington campus and then searched the adjacent Cowan Park on Monday. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Peter Haley)
Seattle police gather as they search Doctor Jose Rizal Park for the suspect in the killing of four police officers in Parkland, Wash., Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Kevin P. Casey)
A house in Tacoma, Wash., which public records indicate was the last known address for Maurice Clemmons (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
A Bremerton, Wash. police officer leaves a police patch at the Lakewood, Wash. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
A photo of the four slain Lakewood police officers is seen at the memorial site. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Eugene Jones of Lakewood prays for the four slain Lakewood police officers at the memorial site. (AP Photo/The News Tribune, Lui Kit Wong)
Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar talks to reporters, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, in Lakewood, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Roses and a keepsake that reads "The Thin Blue Line," are shown Monday at a memorial at the Lakewood Police headquarters. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Tacoma Police officer Don Nelson, right, comforts his wife Karen as they visit a memorial. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
PLU student Jon Wedell writes a message on a paper-covered table at a vigil held in memory of four slain Lakewood Police officers. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Students Annie Norling, left, and Alex Schisel, right, pause at a vigil display of candles and flowers held in memory of four slain Lakewood Police officers, Monday, Nov. 30, 2009, at Pacific Lutheran University. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
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