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FRUSTRATED POLICESCOUR THE REGION

Suspect leaves trail but eludes capture; questions about legal system grow

THE SUSPECT

DESCRIPTIONAge: 37

Height: 5 feet, 8 inchesWeight: 235 poundsFeatures: Black hair;brown eyes; mole on

left cheek

$125,000 REWARDA reward has been

offered for informationthat leads to the arrestof Clemmons. Tipline:

866-977-2362.

FIVE PAGESINSIDE

HUCKABEE LINKHow Clemmons won

clemency from formerArkansas Gov. Mike

Huckabee in 2000 andthe political fallout forthe former Republicanpresidential candidate

> Close-up A3

THE REACTIONTens of thousands of

Facebook usersworldwide express

words of support afterthe slayings of the

officers; a candlelightvigil is planned

Wednesday night > A6

THE CONCERNSAfrican-American

leaders worry that thefurious manhunt for

Clemmons couldincrease the potentialfor racial profiling > A6

NICOLE BRODEURHalloween ambush of

Seattle officers, all-nightpolice stakeout of

Clemmons relative’shome exact a heavy toll

on Seattle’s Leschineighborhood > A9

MauriceClemmons

BY SARA JEAN GREENAND CHRISTINE CLARRIDGESeattle Times staff reporters

PARKLAND, Pierce County –Maurice Clemmons is likely des-perate: He is believed to bearmed, but he’s running out offriends to help him stay ahead ofpolice. And the gunshot woundto his gut probably hasn’tstopped bleeding.

“It’s unfortunate he’s been astep or two ahead of us,” PierceCounty sheriff’s Detective EdTroyer said Monday, nearly 36hours after Clemmons is accusedof executing four Lakewood po-lice officers in a Parkland coffeeshop. But, Troyer said, the num-ber of people willing to help himis dwindling fast.

Detectives have detained sev-eral of Clemmons’ friends, familymembers and acquaintances —and could arrest and book manyof them into jail for helpingClemmons elude capture, Troyersaid. On Monday night, the Sher-iff’s Office launched a series oftactical operations targeting thehomes of relatives and friendsbelieved to be helping Clem-mons, Troyer said.

He said police are going after

T E D S . W A R R E N / T H E A S S O C I A T E D P R E S S

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.

K E V I N P . C A S E Y / T H E A S S O C I A T E D P R E S S

Seattle police SWAT members leave a house in the Leschi neighbor-hood Monday after finding no sign of suspect Maurice Clemmons.

E R I K A S C H U L T Z / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

An officer wearing a gas mask exits the East Superior Street home inSeattle’s Leschi neighborhood. Police staked out the home all night.

POLICE BELIEVECLEMMONS HASRECEIVED HELP

FROM HIS FAMILYAND FRIENDS

See > MANHUNT, A7

BY NICK PERRY, MAUREENO’HAGAN, JONATHAN MARTINAND KEN ARMSTRONGSeattle Times staff reporters

Over four days in May, Mau-rice Clemmons’ behavior andmental state deteriorated. Fam-ily members worried he hadgone crazy, that he was vergingon collapse. His conduct becameso erratic — punching a sheriff’sdeputy, forcing relatives to stripnaked, according to police re-ports — that authorities eventu-ally charged him with eight felo-nies, including one count of childrape.

Still, at the end of those fourdays, Clemmons wound up onthe loose — a delusional manwith a propensity for violence,who had managed to escape thegrip of authorities.

What happened in those fourdays — and in the months thatfollowed — reflects a system gov-erned by formula and misguidedincentives.

That legal system, both in Ar-kansas and Washington, failed toaccount for the entirety of Clem-mons’ violence and his disdainfor the law. Individual crimes,

See > RAGE, A8

Four daysin May

set stagefor tragedy

Obama’s Afghanistan message The president today will unveil his plan for

the war in a 5 p.m. address to air on thenetworks and cable news channels > A5

BY JIM BRUNNER AND SUSAN KELLEHERSeattle Times staff reporters

Maurice Clemmons like-ly would still be sittingin an Arkansas prisoncell if he hadn’t con-

vinced former Gov. Mike Huckabeeand the state’s parole board thathe’d reformed while behind bars fora teenage crime spree.

Clemmons, a suspect in Sunday’sslaying of four Lakewood police of-ficers, had been sentenced to about100 years in prison for several felo-nies, including bringing a gun toschool and a robbery in which hepunched a woman in the face.

He would not have been eligiblefor parole until 2015 or later, ac-cording to Arkansas court docu-ments and prosecutors.

But Clemmons was set free in2000 — over the objections of pros-ecutors — after Huckabee commut-ed the long prison sentence, makinghim immediately eligible for parole.

In his appeal to Huckabee, Clem-mons apologized for his actions butcomplained he’d received overlyharsh sentences.

Clemmons said he started hiscrime spree at 16, after he hadmoved from Seattle to a high-crimeneighborhood in Arkansas.

“I succumbed to the peer pressureand the need I had to be acceptedby other youth in my new environ-ment and fell in with the wrongcrowd and thus began a sevenmonth crime spree which led me toprison,” Clemmons wrote in hisclemency application to Huckabee.

“Good Christian family”Clemmons wrote he came from

“a very good Christian family” and“was raised much better than myactions speak ....”

In a 1989 aggravated robbery,Clemmons, 17 at the time, and twoaccomplices accosted a woman atmidnight in the parking lot of a Lit-tle Rock hotel bar and robbed her of$16 and a credit card.

The woman, Karen Hodge, testi-fied at trial that Clemmons threat-ened her by pretending to have agun in his pocket. “Give me yourpurse or I’m going to shoot you,” hetold her.

Hodge, who’d had a glass ofscotch, responded, “Well ... whydon’t you just shoot?” Clemmonspunched her in the head and tore

the purse off her shoulder, accord-ing to court records.

He was sentenced to 35 years inprison for that incident.

In his appeal for clemency, Clem-mons said he had changed.

“Where once stood a young ...misguided fool, who’s (sic) own lifehe was unable to rule. Now stands a27 year old man, who has learnedthrough ‘the school of hard knocks’to appreciate and respect the rightsof others. And who has in the midstof the harsh reality of prison life de-veloped the necessary skills to standalong (sic) and not follow a multi-tude to do evil, as I did as a 16 yearold child.”

Clemmons added that his motherhad recently died without seeinghim turn his life around and that heprayed Huckabee would show com-passion by releasing him.

His clemency application wassupported by Pulaski County CircuitCourt Judge Marion Humphrey,who cited Clemmons’ youth at the

time of his crimes and called hiscumulative sentence excessive.Clemmons’ release was unanimous-ly approved by the parole board.

The Pulaski County prosecutor’soffice twice objected to parole rec-ommendations for Clemmons.

“For us to prosecute a 17-year-old, and for him to get a 95-yearsentence without a homicide —you’ve got to be a bad little dude todraw that kind of a sentence,” saidMark Fraiser, who prosecuted theearly cases against Clemmons in Pu-laski County.

Clemmons had insisted on sepa-rate trials for each charge, Fraisersaid, and the judge who presidedover the cases had a strong tenden-cy to issue consecutive sentencesthat reflected the judgment of ju-rors in each case.

Clemmons “had an obvious pro-pensity for future violence,” Fraisersaid Monday. “To wake up thismorning and turn on the news andhear his name, I can’t even imagine

the suffering of those families andthe suffering of people in thosecommunities.”

Humphrey said Monday he re-members Clemmons and believedhe was genuinely remorseful andwanted to change.

“I figure young people makesome mistakes,” he said. Also aPresbyterian minister, Humphreysaid he believes in giving people asecond chance.

Humphrey in 2004 also officiatedClemmons’ wedding, according to acopy of the marriage certificate.

“It would be the furthest thingfrom my mind that he would go outand kill four police officers, if in facthe did,” Humphrey said.

Huckabee also cited Clemmons’young age at the time of his crimesin an official proclamation commut-ing his sentence. The proclamationsaid Clemmons faced a 95-year sen-tence but corrections officials inthat state said he likely would haveserved far less than that.

The proclamation was one of1,033 commutations and pardonsHuckabee issued during his morethan 10 years as governor. That’sabout twice the number issued byhis three predecessors combined.

Back in prisonClemmons was released from

prison in August 2000 but was sentback on a parole violation — a rob-bery charge — in July 2001, accord-ing to Dina Tyler, spokeswoman forthe Arkansas Department of Correc-tions.

He received a 10-year sentence,Tyler said, but records show he wasparoled again in March 2004.

Pulaski County Prosecutor LarryJegley said that by his count, Clem-mons should have been in jail until2021.

“Mr. Huckabee made him parole-eligible 21 years before he wouldhave been,” Jegley said.

Clemmons’ volatile behavior incourt gave officials little reason toshow leniency.

“He was one you always kept aneye on,” said W.A. McCormick,chief deputy for Jegley in the yearsClemmons was prosecuted. “Youjust wanted to keep your distancewith him in the courtroom.”

Fraiser recalled how Clemmonsdismantled a pneumatic metal doorstop and hid it in his sock, possiblyto use as a weapon. A bailiff discov-ered it and took it away.

A judge also accused Clemmonsof threatening him, and, in yet an-other case, Clemmons took a lockfrom his holding cell and threw it ata bailiff, missing him and hittingClemmons’ mother instead.

Clemmons moved to Washingtonstate in 2004 while still on parole, amove approved by Arkansas au-thorities. He spent the past severalmonths in jail on a child-rapecharge but was released last week

after arranging for a bail-bond com-pany to post his $150,000 bond. Hisrelease here came despite sevenother pending felony charges, ac-cording to court records.

Huckabee, a Republican presi-dential contender in 2008, issued astatement Sunday night mourningthe deaths of the Lakewood policeofficers and saying that if Clem-mons is responsible “it will be theresult of a series of failures in thecriminal justice system in both Ar-kansas and Washington state.”

Huckabee noted that Clemmons’release was approved by the paroleboard and that prosecutors in Ar-kansas failed to file additionalcharges against Clemmons after hisparole violation in 2001, whichcould have extended his time inprison.

“If I could have known nine yearsago and could have looked into thefuture, would I have acted favor-ably upon the parole board’s recom-mendation? Of course not,” Hucka-bee told Fox News Radio onMonday.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazettecontributed to this story.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 orjbrunner@seattletimes.com

Susan Kelleher: 206-464-2508 orskelleher@seattletimes.com

Persuasive appeal helpedClemmons win clemencyA CHANGED MAN |

The repeat felonconvinced Gov. MikeHuckabee and theArkansas ParoleBoard he had learnedfrom his mistakes.

Criminal historyHighlights from MauriceClemmons’ criminal history inArkansas.

November 1989: At age 17,sentenced to 35 years foraggravated robbery and theft inLittle Rock after he stole a pursefrom a woman, claiming he hada gun and punching her.

January 1990: Sentenced to 60years for burglary and theft forstealing about $6,700 worth ofitems, including a gun, from anArkansas state trooper’s home.

February 1990: Sentenced to sixyears for possessing a .25-caliberpistol at Hall High School, wherehe was a junior. Clemmons toldpolice he brought the gun toprotect himself against “dopers”who had chased and beaten him.

August 2000: Released fromprison after then-Gov. MikeHuckabee commutes hissentence.

July 2001: Sentenced to 10 yearsin prison on a robbery charge.

March 2004: Paroled again fromprison. Later moves toWashington state.

Sources: Clemmons petition forclemency; Arkansas

Democrat-Gazette archives

WEB EXTRA

Huckabee’s orderView the entire commutation document and Maurice Clemmons’request for clemency at seattletimes.com

1 ROP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2009 News A3

CloseUp

BY ANDREW DEMILLOThe Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Asgovernor of Arkansas, MikeHuckabee had a hand in par-doning or commuting manymore prisoners than his threeimmediate predecessors com-bined. Maurice Clemmons,the suspect in Sunday’s slay-ings of four Seattle-area po-lice officers, was amongthem.

As Huckabee considers an-other run for the WhiteHouse, Clemmons could be-come his Willie Horton.

“In a primary between alaw-and-order Republicanand him, I think it could defi-nitely be a vulnerability,” saidArt English, a political scien-tist at the University of Arkan-sas at Little Rock. “It is verydamaging when you havesomeone like that whose sen-tence was commuted. That’spretty high profile and verydevastating and very tragic.”

English said it’s hard toavoid comparing the case toHorton, a convicted killerwho raped a woman and as-saulted her fiancé while onrelease as part of a prison fur-lough program supported byMichael Dukakis when he

was governor of Massachu-setts.

Allies of former PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush ran adscriticizing Dukakis for hissupport of the program, un-dermining the Democrat’spresidential campaign.

As recently as Sunday,hours before the shootingsuspect was linked to him,Huckabee said he was lean-ing against running again forpresident, telling “Fox NewsSunday” he was “less likelyrather than more likely” torun.

Huckabee is one of the Re-publican Party’s most popularfigures, but he has beendogged by questions over themore than 1,000 commuta-tions and pardons he issued— more than his three prede-cessors combined — duringhis 10-year tenure.

During his 2008 presiden-tial campaign, he faced simi-lar questions over the releasefrom prison of a convictedrapist named Wayne Du-Mond, who was later convict-ed of another rape and mur-der.

Huckabee tried then to dis-tance himself from any role inthe DuMond parole, and onSunday he similarly pointedat “a series of failures in thecriminal-justice system” re-garding Maurice Clemmons.

“If I could have known nineyears ago that this guy wascapable of something of this

magnitude, obviously Iwould have never granted acommutation. It’s sickening,”Huckabee said Monday dur-ing an interview with FoxNews Channel’s Bill O’Reilly.

Huckabee joined O’Reillyin criticizing two judges whofreed Clemmons, 37, after heposted a $15,000 bond just afew days before the shooting.He had been jailed oncharges of second-degreerape in a case involving ayoung female relative.

Michelle Malkin, a popularconservative blogger, dubbedthe situation “Huckabee’sWillie Horton.”

“This story is political

quicksand, and if the Repub-lican conservative establish-ment doesn’t throw him alifeline immediately, it couldbe very damaging to a presi-dential run,” said Ron Bon-jean, a Republican strategist.

Huckabee won the Iowacaucuses in 2008, finishedsecond to Sen. John McCainin the Washington state cau-cuses and went on to claimseveral other key states, buthe ultimately lost the GOPnomination to McCain.

Republicans rank him inpolls along with former Mas-sachusetts Gov. Mitt Romneyand former Alaska Gov. Sa-rah Palin as their favorites for

the 2012 campaign.Two members of the state

parole board said Huckabeepressured them to show Du-Mond mercy, while Hucka-bee publicly questionedwhether DuMond was guiltyof the rape of a teenage girl.During the presidential pri-maries, a conservative groupaired television commercialsin South Carolina featuringthe mother of Carol SueShields, whom DuMondkilled in 2000 after his re-lease.

Clemmons’ case packsmore potency: The facts ofHuckabee’s involvement inthe clemency decision areless in dispute, and the crimehas played over and over onnational television.

“It’s the same issue yetagain,” said Whit Ayres, a Re-publican pollster. “The differ-ence this time is that Gov.Huckabee would start withgreater visibility and higherin the polls, which always en-hances and exacerbates anypossible criticisms.”

“People might be able tounderstand one instance,”said Don Sipple, a GOP strat-egist who stayed neutral inthe presidential primaries.“But now you have two dif-ference episodes where he’sshown poor judgment.”

“That’s somebody he prob-ably shouldn’t have” let gofree, said Dick Dresner, whohelped steer Huckabee’s

2008 presidential bid, notingthat Clemmons was not thefirst convict to “go off thedeep end” after being re-leased during Huckabee’s 10-year term.

Prosecutors have saidHuckabee, a Southern Baptistpreacher, was more inclinedto release or reduce the sen-tences of prisoners if he haddirect contact with them orwas lobbied by those close tohim. Joe Carter, a staffer onHuckabee’s 2008 presidentialcampaign, suggested the for-mer governor may simply betoo forgiving.

“Ironically, what makesHuckabee such an appealingpresidential candidate — hisempathy for all people andgenuine belief in the individ-ual — is also the trait that willprevent him from ever reach-ing the White House,” Carterwrote in a blog post Monday.“... The unfortunate reality isthat for politicians, unlikepastors, there are limits tocompassion.”

Additional material from TheWashington Post, Los Angeles

Times and The New York Times

Political death blow for Huckabee?CLEMMONS COULD BE

HIS WILLIE HORTON

Commuted sentencesuddenly a big liability

S P E N C E R T I R E Y / T H E A S S O C I A T E D P R E S S , 2 0 0 1

Mike Huckabee, one of the Republican Party’s most popu-lar figures, is seen as Arkansas governor. Nine years agohe commuted the prison sentence of Maurice Clemmons.

Willie Hor-ton, whosecase under-mined can-didate Mi-chaelDukakis

A6 News TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2009 2 ROP

4 POLICE OFFICERS SLAIN

BY MARC RAMIREZ / Seattle Times staff reporter

As a manhunt for the suspect in the slay-ings of four Lakewood police officers spilledinto Seattle’s streets late Sunday night, OscarEason Jr. talked with a friend about possibleconsequences for African Americans.

Eason, chairman of Washington’s AfricanAmerican Affairs Commission, came to onepainful conclusion: For African-Americanmales between ages 20 and 50, he said, “Iwould caution them to be very careful andonly travel when necessary.”

While expressing condolences to those af-fected by the slayings, African-Americanleaders nonetheless are concerned that thefurious manhunt for Maurice Clemmons, 37,the man believed responsible for the crime,could raise the potential for racial profiling.

Few community leaders have heard directcomplaints. James Kelly, president of the Ur-ban League of Metropolitan Seattle, said oneperson had complained to his agency aboutexcessive police monitoring. “I am sur-prised,” he said of that call, but added that heunderstands the position police are in.

“Our hearts go out to the department, thecommunity and the family, especially thechildren that have lost their fathers andmother,” said James Bible, president of theSeattle / King County chapter of the NAACP.

At the same time, he said, “as a civil-rightsorganization, we do want to make sure peo-

ple’s constitutional rights aren’t being violat-ed.”

By Monday morning, Clemmons’ photo —the broad shoulders, arching eyebrows anddistinctive mole — was everywhere, on theInternet, on TV, on the dashboards of Wash-ington state troopers. “I feel sorry for everyhusky black male with a mole on his face,”trooper Cliff Pratt said.

Such concerns are exactly what communi-ty leaders worry about, especially in thewake of the Oct. 31 murder of Seattle policeOfficer Timothy Brenton. Officers are pre-dictably worried for their safety, while ten-sions are heightened in the community.

And in the days after Brenton’s murder, be-fore Tukwila’s Christopher Monfort — whohas a mixed white-and-black racial back-ground — was charged, the local NAACPchapter did receive racial-profiling com-plaints. “The whole community did feel tar-geted,” Bible said.

“God knows what goes on in an officer’smind,” Eason said. “... With these incidentsin Seattle, there is some cause to be cautiousfor your own protection.”

But even as racial-profiling concerns arevoiced, he added, “we know these officersare out there protecting our community.That’s a message we try to get across.”

Marc Ramirez: 206-464-8102 ormramirez@seattletimes.com

Manhunt creates unease for black men

M I K E S I E G E L / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

As the hunt for a suspected cop killer intensified, Seattle police question and search aman on Maynard Avenue South Monday afternoon. “I feel sorry for every husky blackmale with a mole on his face,” a state trooper said, regarding the suspect’s appearance.

BY LYNN THOMPSONSeattle Times staff reporter

More than 90,000 peopleposted messages of condo-lence on a Facebook pagehonoring four slain Lake-wood police officers in theday after their deaths. Sev-eral thousand people are ex-pected to line the streetsWednesday night near theLakewood Police Depart-ment as part of a candlelightvigil.

Flags throughout the re-gion are flying at half-staff,and public officials fromacross the state have issuedexpressions of sympathy.

The unprecedented assas-sination of the officers — justa month after a Seattle policeofficer was gunned down ashe sat in his squad car — hasprompted an outpouring ofshock, grief and outragefrom people throughout theregion and around theworld.

“Those officers represent

us,” said Dean Curry, pastorof the Life Center Assemblyof God Church in Tacoma,which is partnering with theLakewood YMCA forWednesday’s vigil. “Whenwe see them we know theyare standing between us andharm. When they are at-tacked, we feel it’s an attackupon ourselves.”

The circumstances of theshootings, four officers quiet-ly starting their Sunday in acoffee shop, seemed to touchmany of those sharing theirreactions online.

“You put your lives on theline for us every single day.You wear those uniforms forour safety and no other rea-son,” wrote Darla Langdon.

Jean Madden of Wisconsinexpressed outrage that thesuspected gunman had beenreleased from prison in onestate and jail in another de-spite a long criminal record,including several felonies.

“Why in thunder was he let

out of prison?” Maddenwrote.

The Facebook page wascreated by an Edmonds high-school student who is part ofthe close-knit family of lawenforcement. Jacob Kimerer,17, is himself a Police Explor-er who volunteers with theEdmonds Police Departmentand plans a career as an offi-cer.

His uncle, Clark Kimerer, isdeputy chief of the SeattlePolice Department. His fa-ther, Scott Kimerer, is chiefof the Burien Police Depart-ment.

Jacob’s father said his sonunderstands the dangers ofbeing a police officer: “He’salready been to four officerfunerals, and he’s just 17years old.”

Jacob Kimerer said he wasmoved to create the Face-book page after seeing a sim-ilar page honoring TimothyBrenton, the Seattle policeofficer who was slain Hal-

loween night.Still, he said, he was un-

prepared for the outpouringof sympathy. As many as 15posts per minute were beinglogged on the site Monday.

People from as far away asFrance and Mexico left com-ments. In the United States,posts came from Wisconsin,Michigan, Utah and Califor-nia amid thousands fromWashington state.

A constant stream of callsand visitors came into thecity of Lakewood and its Po-lice Department Monday.Mourners left cards andflowers outside the PoliceDepartment.

Jeff Brewster, Lakewood’scommunications director,said he’d received calls froma New York police officer anda Long Island officer whoboth want to fly out to attendthe memorial service on theirown time.

The Lakewood Police De-partment was formed in

2004, and the four slain offi-cers had been recruited fromacross the region, Brewstersaid. The department grewover the past five years from87 to more than 100.

“Before the shooting, wehad 103 officers,” he said.“Now it’s 99.”

On Monday, Lisa Brenton,widow of Officer TimothyBrenton, expressed her con-dolences to the survivingfamilies.

Calling the aftermath of ashooting death a “time of un-bearable grief,” Brenton is-sued a statement that said inpart, “Our hearts ache for thefamilies of Sergeant MarkRenninger, Officer Tina Gris-wold, Officer Ronald Owensand Officer Gregory Rich-ards. ... Their families arepainfully aware of the risksthat are inherent in theirloved ones’ chosen profes-sion.”Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305 or

lthompson@seattletimes.com

Three women embrace Monday at a memorial for the slain officers at the Lake-wood Police Department.

Grief, gratitudefor slain officers

P H O T O S B Y E L L E N M . B A N N E R / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

Officers and the public bring flowers, cards, candles and teddy bears in honor of the officers. The blank binders are for mourners to write comments about each officer.

Officer TinaGriswold

Officer Ron-ald Owens

Sgt. MarkRenninger

Officer Greg-ory Richards

MEMORIALS | Condolences continue to pour in from around the nation andworld to the Lakewood Police Department. A candlelight vigil planned for

Wednesday night is expected to draw thousands to Pierce County.

How you can helpTHE LAKEWOOD POLICEINDEPENDENT GUILD istaking donations for thefamilies of the four slainpolice officers. Checks canbe made to the LPIGBenevolent Fund and sentto P.O. Box 99579,Lakewood, WA 98499.Donations also can bemade online atwww.lpig.us.The Forza Coffee Companyhas set up donation boxesat its stores. Donations alsocan be made at the ForzaWeb site, www.forzacoffeecompany.com.

Candlelight prayer vigilA prayer service andcandlelight walk will beheld at 7 p.m. Wednesdayat the Lakewood YMCA,9715 Lakewood Drive S.W.

b 2 ROP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2009 News A7

4 POLICE OFFICERS SLAIN

anybody and everybody sus-pected of aiding and abettingClemmons. He said they areconducting operations inseveral cities.

“We think his network isrunning out,” Troyer said.

Not only that, but eyewit-nesses have confirmed thatClemmons was wounded inthe shootings and that hiswound was bleeding, Troyersaid. Blood was found inClemmons’ white Chevroletpickup, found abandoned inthe parking lot of a Parklandgrocery Sunday.

Medics and doctors whohave consulted with policesay an untreated gunshotwound can change dramati-cally in a day or two — eitherthrough blood loss or infec-tion, Troyer said.

Troyer said Clemmons’ sis-ter was detained Sundaynight after she was “less thanforthcoming” about the aidshe offered her brother afterthe shootings. He said shedrove Clemmons to Seattle’sLeschi neighborhood thatnight and bandaged hiswounds, but didn’t admit toit immediately.

Police believe Clemmonstook off after seeing policetalking to his sister outside aLeschi home where shedropped him off, Troyer said.

In an interview Sundaynight with The SeattleTimes, she said she had dri-ven up from Tacoma to see ifshe could help police per-suade her brother to comeout of the Leschi home.

Clemmons, 37, remains adangerous threat to police:Detectives have learned hehas access to any number ofweapons, including longguns, rifles, shotguns andhandguns, Troyer said. Hedeclined to elaborate.

“He’s armed, he’s wound-ed and he knows there arewarrants for four counts ofmurder” that have been is-sued for his arrest, Troyersaid of Clemmons.

Hundreds of tipsSince the ambush slayings

of the four officers as they satdoing paperwork at a ForzaCoffee Company store beforestarting their shifts Sundaymorning, hundreds of tipshave poured in from the pub-lic. After weeding out thecrackpots and hoaxes, detec-tives actively are filtering

through more than 350 tips,Troyer said.

Acquaintances of Clem-mons also have told policethat he told them Saturdaynight that “he was going totake out a group of cops,”telling them to “watch thenews,” but they “wrote it offas crazy talk,” Troyer said.

Investigators have facedplenty of frustration, disap-pointment and delay in theirhunt for the gunman. Oneman called 911 Sunday andsaid he was the shooter — abogus claim. Another mancalled his girlfriend and rela-tives, also claiming responsi-bility and asking for help toget out of the woods wherehe said he was hiding.

That man was booked intothe Pierce County Jail earlyMonday on investigation ofobstructing police. Lt. DaveMcDonald of the PuyallupPolice Department, acting asa law-enforcement spokes-man, said that hoax cost in-vestigators precious time andresources.

There was more frustrationMonday as various tips andsightings in and around Se-attle turned into dead ends:blood in a phone booth in Ra-venna. Bloody gauze foundin the middle of the street inthe Chinatown InternationalDistrict. Police also searchedMonday for a possible get-away car that reportedly be-longed to Clemmons’ wife,

only to learn the vehicle hadbeen sold two months ago. AMetro bus driver thought hehad spotted Clemmons on aroute in the University Dis-trict, prompting officers toswarm the University ofWashington campus.

Late Monday afternoon,Renton police, members ofthe Pierce County sheriff’sSWAT unit and other officerssurrounded a house in the13000 block of Renton Av-enue South. Though Clem-mons wasn’t in the house, of-ficers questioned some of hisrelatives, according to a law-enforcement source. Thatrelative also is suspected ofhelping Clemmons dodge ar-rest, the source said.

The search of the Rentonhouse was the fourth tacticaloperation conducted by po-lice Monday, Troyer said.Authorities were executingseveral search warrants, hesaid. He did not elaborate onthe other operations.

Close to ClemmonsSeattle police seemingly

were close to capturingClemmons on Sunday nightas they surrounded his aunt’shouse in Leschi. Police haveconfirmed he showed up atthe house on a dead-endstreet on a hill above LakeWashington — but Troyersaid he suspects Clemmonssaw officers rounding uppeople who had helped himget roughly 40 miles north ofthe crime scene and slippedaway before the area couldbe contained.

“It was unlucky for us,lucky for him. But his luck isabout to run out,” Troyersaid.

Clemmons has a lengthycriminal history, including atleast five felony convictions inArkansas and at least eightfelony charges in Washing-ton. He was granted clem-ency by former Arkansas Gov.Mike Huckabee nine yearsago over the protests of pros-ecutors. More recently, theex-con was released from thePierce County Jail last week,even though he faced eightfelony charges, including achild-rape charge that carriesa possible life sentence.

By 6 p.m. Monday, sheriff’sofficials had reopened SteeleStreet South and moved theflowers, balloons and stuffedanimals that had been left ata nearby gas station and re-assembled the memorial out-side the Forza Coffee Com-pany store where the four of-ficers had been fatally shot.

Killed were Sgt. Mark Ren-ninger, 39; and officers Ron-ald “Ronnie” Owens, 37; Ti-na Griswold, 40; and Greg-ory Richards, 42.

How crime unfoldedAccording to police and

witnesses, the three officersand their sergeant — mem-bers of the same Lakewoodpatrol unit — were seated in-side the coffee shop Sundaymorning, their marked patrolcars parked outside.

Around 8:15 a.m., a manwho has been identified asClemmons walked into thecafe, passing the officers anda handful of customers tostand at the counter. A baris-ta asked for his order, but hejust stared at her. He openedhis coat, and the barista, awoman in her early 20s,spotted a gun in his waist-band. She grabbed her co-worker and ran out the backdoor as the man opened fire.

Two of the four officersdidn’t have time to react andwere “flat-out executed,”Troyer said Sunday. One offi-cer was able to stand beforebeing shot and falling to theground. The fourth officerfought with the shooter,struggling with him andsqueezing off a few roundsfrom his service weapon be-fore that officer also was shotand killed.

Clemmons apparentlydropped one handgun dur-ing the fight with the officer.The handgun was found byinvestigators on the floor in-side the coffee shop, leadinginvestigators to concludethat Clemmons was armedwith more than one weapon,according to McDonald ofthe Puyallup department.

Sara Jean Green: 206-515-5654 orsgreen@seattletimes.com

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983or cclarridge@seattletimes.comInformation from Seattle Timesstaff reporter Charles E. Brown

and Times archives is included inthis report

C L I F F D E S P E A U X / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

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 andearly 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.

M I K E S I E G E L / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

Members of the Seattle Police Department search Rizal Park, between 12th Avenue Southand Interstate 5. Several operations to locate Clemmons on Monday came up empty.

M I K E S I E G E L / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

Seattle police officers and an agent from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco andFirearms (ATF) search the Leschi neighborhood along Lake Washington Boulevard.

A L A N B E R N E R / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

University of Washington and Seattle police officers cross 15th Avenue Northeast after a futile search for Clemmons inCowen Park. The park and some neighborhood streets were closed temporarily.

K E V I N P . C A S E Y / T H E A S S O C I A T E D P R E S S

Schoolchildren peer out of a school bus as a policeofficer explains that their grade school is closed.

< Manhunt | FROM A1

LOTS OF LEADS, BUT SUSPECT STILL FREE

Law-enforcement officials believe Clemmonshas been sheltered by family, friends

❝ It was unlucky for us, lucky

for him. But his luck is about

to run out.”

ED TROYERPierce County sheriff’s detective

A8 News TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2009 1 ROP

4 POLICE OFFICERS SLAIN

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viewed in isolation, trumpeda long and disturbing patternof warning signs.

As a result, Clemmonswalked out of jail Nov. 23. Aweek later, he was on the runagain — this time accused ofshooting and killing fourLakewood police officers in aParkland coffee shop, in oneof the most horrific crimes inPuget Sound history.

May 9It may have been an argu-

ment — precipitated by hiswife’s discovery that he had achild with another woman —that set Clemmons off.

Whatever it was, Clem-mons took his rage out on hisParkland neighborhood,throwing rocks at houses,cars and people, according topolice records.

A woman who was visitingfamily that day says she wasleaving the neighborhoodwhen a man hurled a land-scaping brick through thedriver-side window of herSUV.

“I was just in shock,” saidthe woman, who asked notto be identified becauseClemmons remains at large.“The look in his eyes is some-thing I will not forget.”

The woman called 911only after rounding a cornera safe distance away.

A Pierce County sheriff’sdeputy responded to the dis-turbance at 12:45 p.m. Out-side Clemmons’ home, thedeputy encountered two ofClemmons’ cousins.

When the deputy tried go-ing into the house in searchof Clemmons, one cousingrabbed the deputy’s wrist. Astruggle followed, duringwhich Clemmons emergedfrom the house and punchedthe deputy in the face. Clem-mons also assaulted a seconddeputy who arrived to help,according to court records.

Ultimately, all three menwere arrested and taken tojail. When being booked,Clemmons refused to coop-erate and said, “I’ll kill allyou bitches,” according to apsychological evaluation ob-tained by The News Tribune.

The two cousins pleadedguilty to felony assault andwere sentenced to severalmonths in jail.

But the charges againstClemmons would defy sucheasy resolution.

May 10After spending one night

in jail, Clemmons caught abreak.

May 10 was a Sunday,Mother’s Day. Judges rarelywork Sundays — but bail-bond agents do.

Pierce County has deviseda system that allows peopleto post bond without everfacing a judge, if it happensto be a holiday or a weekend.

Called “booking bail,” thissystem works according to ahard-and-fast formula.Clemmons was booked onfour felony charges — twofor assault, two for maliciousmischief — and, by schedule,his booking bail was set at$10,000 per charge, for a to-tal of $40,000.

“If you post booking bail,you can walk out without see-ing a judge. And that appearsto be exactly what he did,”said Pierce County Prosecut-ing Attorney Mark Lindquist.“When it’s booking bail, itdoesn’t take into account par-ticular details like somebody’shistory. And that’s problemat-ic ... it’s one of the dangers ofbooking bail.”

If his history had been tak-en into account, Clemmonswould have fared poorly. Hehad a criminal record datingto his teen years, with at leastfive prior felony convictionsin Arkansas.

Aladdin Bail Bonds postedClemmons’ bond on Mother’sDay, and Clemmons walkedfree. Defendants typicallypay 10 percent of the bond,with the bonding companyon the hook for the rest.

Stephen Kreimer, execu-tive director of the Profes-sional Bail Agents of theUnited States, said he doesn’tthink “booking bail” is com-mon nationwide. In moststates, he said, defendantsmust wait until they’ve seena magistrate or court repre-sentative before being re-leased on bail.

May 11After his release on May

10, Clemmons’ mental statedegenerated, with his wifesaying he was acting “crazy,”according to a Pierce Countysheriff’s report.

At about 1 a.m. May 11,Clemmons appeared nakedin his living room and de-manded that two youngfemale relatives — ages 11and 12 — sit on an ottomanand fondle him, one of thegirls later told police. Theyobeyed, the girl said, becausethey were “scared.” The 11-year-old soon fled, andwasn’t seen for days.

But Clemmons continuedto assault the 12-year-old un-til she cried herself to sleep,police records say. Clem-mons, still naked, soon wokeher and demanded she joinhim and his wife, NicoleSmith, in their bedroom.Clemmons referred to him-self as Jesus and Smith, na-ked and wrapped in a bed-sheet, as Eve. Smith beggedher husband to let the girl go,and Clemmons complied, thegirl later told police.

But Clemmons wasn’t fin-ished. At about 4 a.m., he as-sembled his family back inthe living room and demand-ed they strip naked. Hetalked about how “beautifulit was that they were sharingthe moment.”

Pierce County sheriff’sdeputies arrived at about5:30 a.m. after a familymember called 911. WithClemmons now gone fromthe house, the family de-scribed his recent erratic be-havior, including his state-ments that the world wascoming to an end and he was“going to fly to heaven.”

Acting on a tip from Smith,deputies saw Clemmonsnearby, at a second house he

was building. But Clemmonsran away before deputiescould stop him, and a K-9unit could not pick up histrail.

Child Protective Services(CPS), alerted by deputies,also investigated the incidentand substantiated the sexual-abuse complaint. A CPSspokeswoman said the agen-cy closed the case in Octoberbecause Smith and the youngrelative went to counselingand Clemmons was in jail.

May 12Clemmons was supposed

to show up in Pierce CountySuperior Court May 12, to bearraigned on charges stem-ming from the rocks andpunches he was accused ofthrowing three days before.

By now, prosecutors hadfiled a formal set of chargesaccusing Clemmons withtwo counts of assault andfive for felony malicious mis-chief.

But at 1:30 p.m., when acourt official polled thecourtroom gallery to see whowas there, Clemmons was a

no show. Three hours later,at the close of the court’s day,he still was nowhere to befound.

A judge later issued abench warrant, calling forClemmons’ arrest for failureto appear.

Clemmons was on the run— with seven felony chargesalready filed against him andanother on the way, givenwhat had happened in hishouse just one day before.

July 1 Clemmons wound up be-

ing arrested seven weeks lat-er, on July 1, when heshowed up in court, in appar-ent hopes of having thebench warrant thrown out.

The next day, prosecutorscharged him with second-de-gree rape of a child, accusinghim of molesting his 12-year-old relative in May.

Prosecutors also filed aseparate charge on July 2 —this one accusing Clemmonsof being a fugitive from Ar-kansas. They cited the chainof events involving the al-leged assault on the deputiesas evidence that Clemmonshad violated his parole in Ar-kansas. If sent back, he facedthe prospect of being re-turned to prison for years.

But July 22, the ArkansasDepartment of CommunityCorrection notified PierceCounty, by letter, that Arkan-sas had no interest in takingClemmons back.

“Arkansas is releasing itshold on the offender and willnot extradite at this time,”the letter said. “The subjecthas pending charges in thestate of Washington and ap-propriate action will be takenonce the charges have beenadjudicated.”

Arkansas rescinded itswarrant. Had Arkansas notdone so, Clemmons wouldhave been held without bailon the alleged parole viola-tion.

Stephen Penner, a deputyprosecuting attorney inPierce County, said he seesArkansas’ decision to leaveClemmons to Washingtonthis way: “There’s a built-inincentive to not followingthrough. In a way, the moreviolent they are, the less youwant them in your communi-ty.”

Lindquist, Pierce County’schief prosecutor, was askedMonday if he believes Arkan-sas dumped Clemmons onWashington.

Only Arkansas can answerthat question, Lindquist said,but he added: “You coulddraw that inference.”

A spokeswoman for the Ar-kansas prison system told theArkansas Democrat-Gazettethat the state issued a secondwarrant in October thatwould have allowed Clem-mons to be held without bail.

Penner said if a secondwarrant was issued, no onetold him.

Nov. 23In Washington, the courts

had to determine bail for thetwo sets of charges Clem-mons faced.

Phil Sorensen, a deputyprosecutor in Pierce County,said his office asked for$100,000 bail in the assaultcase — an amount higherthan normal for such charges— based on Clemmons’ histo-ry. The judge, John McCar-thy, set the bail at $40,000,Sorensen said.

In the child-rape case,prosecutors wanted$200,000 bail, Lindquistsaid. The judge, Thomas Fel-nagle, set bail at $150,000.

Lindquist said he thoughtboth judges set bail too low.

“As prosecutors, we facean uphill battle walking intocourt,” he said. “We have toshow that the defendant is adanger to the communityand a flight risk.”

Neither judge could bereached for comment Mon-day.

In the end, Clemmonsneeded to come up with$190,000 bail.

Penner, the deputy prose-cuting attorney, said Clem-mons was turned away bytwo bail-bond agencies,based on his history of failingto appear in court. But thenClemmons found a taker: JailSucks Bail Bonds, based inChehalis.

At 8:20 p.m. Nov. 23, bondwas posted for Clemmons.That same night he walkedout of the Pierce County Jail.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 ornperry@seattletimes.com;

Jonathan Martin: 206-464-2605or jmartin@seattletimes.com.

E L L E N M . B A N N E R / T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

Maurice Clemmons took his rage out on his Parkland neighborhood, throwing rocks at houses, cars and people, accord-ing to police records. He was charged with child rape after molesting a young female relative in his house in May.

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Forza Coffee CompanyGunman kills four Lakewood police officers. Suspect identified as Maurice Clemmons.

Clemmons’ homeLast known residence, where he was accused of creating a disturbance, punching an officer, and a day later, raping a 12-year-old relative

T H E S E A T T L E T I M E S

< RageFROM A1

4 DAYS IN MAY SETSTAGE FOR TRAGEDY

Clemmons’ wife sayshe was acting ‘crazy’

Nicole BrodeurSeattle Times staffcolumnist

It feels anxious uphere. Everyone’s onedge.

A woman pulls up besideme as I walk down East Yes-ler Way.

“Did they get him?” sheasks. It’s clear she wants toknow now.

Before I can answer, an-other woman headed in theother direction yells out herown window.

“You’re blocking my viewof the street!” she barks, thenguns the engine and pullsaway.

You can forgive the resi-dents of Seattle’s Leschineighborhood for being a lit-tle short-fused.

The views across LakeWashington may take yourbreath away, but recentevents have made it hard tobreathe easily. To sleepsoundly. And to rememberwhat this place used to be.

Just weeks ago, on Oct. 31,two Seattle police officerswere ambushed while sittingat the intersection of EastYesler Way and 29th AvenueSouth. Officer Timothy Bren-ton was killed, and his part-ner, Britt Sweeney, was in-jured. Christopher Monfort,41, has been charged in theshootings.

On Sunday, police de-scended on a house severalblocks east, where they be-lieved Maurice Clemmonssought refuge with a relativeafter allegedly ambushingand killing four Lakewoodpolice officers in a strip-mallcoffee shop that morning.

Although the house turnedout to be empty, it made for atense night of locked doors,blocked streets and helicop-ters clattering overhead.

On Monday morning,classes were canceled at Les-chi Elementary. SWAT teammembers used the schoolparking lot as a staging area.TV trucks lined the streetwhile clusters of camerasstood on a few corners.

And Ethel Nichols, 66,wondered what happened tothe place where her familyhas lived since 1959.

“It has always been sowonderful,” she said. “Butlately, it’s more than I canthink about. Like being in aThird World country.”

We stood in front of thepicture window of her house,watching SWAT officers re-move their bulletproof vests.

“Four weeks ago we wereup the hill, crying about thatofficer being killed,” Nicholssaid. “And no sooner do theyget the flowers cleaned up,then here we are again. Upall night long, the phoneringing.

“I just put a pillow over myhead.”

The family runs a child-care center in the basement.Only four parents broughttheir children by Monday.Nichols’ sister, Fannie, letthem in and locked the door.

“They’re on the computer;they don’t know what’s goingon,” Nichols said. “They’rehappy.”

All morning, cars crawledup and down the street totake in the scene.

“This whole place haschanged, and why?” Nicholsasked. “Why is this happen-ing?”

She remembered a familynamed Clemmons. The par-ents were friends with herparents.

She wondered aloud ifMaurice Clemmons had satnear her in church, or if hehad driven past her housethe previous night.

Did he race past the busstop where the driver used to

stop and honk for hermother, Aridell Mitchell?

Did he glance into theroom where her father, Nor-man Mitchell, used to writesermons for his services atGoodwill Baptist Church?

“He was right there,” shesaid, nodding toward EastSuperior Street, where policestood in front of a house,waiting for Clemmons allnight. “But I think it’s Godwatching over us.”

Someone has to be watch-ing, for there is so much painjust beyond this place.

I left to join the crowd out-side. As I did, I heard Nichols

lock the door behind me.

Nicole Brodeur’s column appearsTuesday and Friday. Reach her at

206-464-2334 ornbrodeur@seattletimes.com.She’s looking up Psalm 91.

BREATHLESS IN LESCHI —AND IT’S NOT THE VIEW

1 ROP TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2009 News A9

4 POLICE OFFICERS SLAIN

THE SEATTLE TIMESTHE SEATTLE TIMES

Tense times for Leschi area

Source: ESRI, TeleAtlas

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House involved in police stakeout Sunday night.

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BY MAUREEN O’HAGANAND NICK PERRY Seattle Times staff reporters

When Maurice Clemmonswas accused of molesting achild and assaulting a sher-iff’s deputy in May, he wasacting bizarrely enough thatmany suspected he had amental illness.

But when psychologistsevaluated him in October todetermine if he was compe-tent to stand trial, they sawno evidence that he wasn’t,according to the evaluationobtained by The News Trib-une.

Clemmons answered theevaluators’ questions calmlyand rationally, with “no evi-

dence of disturbance.” Hetold them he was married,that he ran a landscapingbusiness and that he ownedfive rental properties. Hesaid he didn’t use drugs oralcohol, and that until short-ly after the incidents in May,he’d never had mental-health treatment. He alsowas able to explain courtprocedures.

But in May, Clemmonstold evaluators, he’d beenhallucinating about “peopledrinking blood and peopleeating babies,” the reportsaid. This went on for aboutthree weeks, during whichtime he wasn’t sleeping oreating well. But, he told the

psychologists, “I went to acounselor and then thingsdied down.” That counselorgave him a diagnosis of“Brief Psychotic Disorder.”

Asked if he had thoughtsof harming others, he said:“Sometimes I think about it.... Everybody thinks the po-lice can’t lie.” But whenpressed, he had no specifictargets in mind.

In the end, evaluatorscouldn’t come up with a di-agnosis for Clemmons,other than stress. However,they did say his violence atan early age, including rob-bery convictions, suggestedhe had an “increased risk forfuture dangerous behavior.”

Clemmons’ diagnosis: stress