Suspect in police killings holed up in Seattle house

“I hope they get them. I can’t sleep until they do,” he said. “Those guys could be hiding in my backyard.”

"Guys?" Who said anything about multiple suspects? This person is as good a place to start looking as any.

This is wild. One assailant kills four cops. This isn't the kind of dangers these cops could ever expect.

My prayers to their families. < :-)

hitman?

"officers as they sat working on their laptops" in a coffeehouse? Don't they have offices for that? So now they have an excuse to hang around the donut shop.

to sabiwabi-They were most likely on a break. And working on a laptop does not mean they were actually doing their job or even supposed to be. Then again, they may have been doing their reports, etc. on their own breaktime, to save themselves and the taxpayers overtime.

But I would not be surprised if the killer turns out to be some loon who took one look and decided they were just lazy cops. They might have been or they might not have been. Assumptions are often wrong.

What a pathetic excuse for a human being this "person of interest" is.

Now we get a pic and the rap sheet of a "person of interest". Let the drumhead trial by media begin oh jurors of JT. This guy will likely be hung before the day is out, at least on the internet.

Sabiwabi - Police departments in US, Canada encourage officers to take breaks in public places, where they can interact with the community and be quickkly available if there's trouble nearby. It's in direct contrast to Japan, where cops must eat lunch unseen behind the walls of their offices and kobans, out of sight and out of touch with the public.

what a piece of crap! Pure human waste!

I sure hope Mike Huckabee is feeling lousy about this! Much of this is due to his lack of responsibility.

Nine children lost their parents in this horrible atrocity.

The media is playing up the Huckabee pardon. That pardon occured nine years ago after Clemmons served 11 years in prison. The governor of Washington, Christine Gregoire, needs to explain why this man was on the streets after eight felonies in Washington and a recent arrest for child rape.

Rather than the Gov, who I am not a fan of, the laws and sentencing guidelines need to be reviewed in Washington. As should the judge who allowed bail on a proven violent and dangerous offender.

These four officers were having coffee prior to going to work. We all do the same, but we all don't wear uniforms marking us as targets for a small, yet dangerous number of nutjobs. Lame sabiwabi jokes aside, police are men and women who do a tough job, and they do know the risks. My heart aches for the nine kids who lost a parent today.

I guess I'm a bit disappointed that the barrista chose to flee out the back door without at least yelling out a warning to the officers sitting there unawares, but in a moment of fear like that, self-preservation is probably all I would be thinking about, too. This is just sad all the way around.

A horrifying tragedy. Condolences to the wives and children of these officers. Hope they get this guy.

Suzu1,

The governor of Washington, Christine Gregoire, needs to explain why this man was on the streets after eight felonies in Washington and a recent arrest for child rape.

You're not kidding. And what the heck is second-degree rape of a child? Is it the one where they don't actually murder the child afterwards or what? Why is this man free after his recent crimes? Whether he killed the cops or not he should really be locked up for life after taking the p**s by committing multiple crimes after being freed. But I hope they catch the nutter who did kill the cops, or this could become a regular thing.

The media is playing up the Huckabee pardon. That pardon occured nine years ago after Clemmons served 11 years in prison. The governor of Washington, Christine Gregoire, needs to explain why this man was on the streets after eight felonies in Washington and a recent arrest for child rape.

Good points on that. I am from AR and that was one of the things people were against Huckabee about. I do believe "dirtbags" like him belong in jail, and he has shown how he can't handle being free by his repeated offenses. This animal belongs in jail, or worse.

My condolences to the families.

Is it a part of huckabee christian beliefs to let criminals out of jail to shoot cops?

He is finished now as a candidate for anything. I hope his tv show on fox tanks now as well.

I wish the barista had yelled out a warning before fleeing. I know it can be terrifying in that situation, but if he could have shouted: "Officers, this guy's got a gun!" and then taken off, it could have made the difference between life and death for the four officers.

Is it a part of huckabee christian beliefs to let criminals out of jail to shoot cops?

Good grief, these stories bring out the most ridiculous comments from the trolls.

This guy just single-handedly ruined Mike Huckabee's shot at President.

Huckabee (of whom I am no fan) did the right thing at the time. At 17, the suspect had been given a sentence of something like 60 years for robbery. You can't just can't keep everyone in jail forever on the rare chance that they may commit this kind of crime. But I don't understand why he was out on bail this time.

Please don't use this horrible mass murder as a springboard for anti-Huckabee talk.

Look, I am as liberal as you can get. Blaming Huckabee for this is not only idiotic but immature.

"Is it a part of huckabee [sic] christian [sic] beliefs to let criminals out of jail to shoot cops?"

Grow up.

It has already been whispered by the American press, but this will turn out to be Mr. Huckabee's Willie Horton. I guess what goes around comes around, eh?

Another moderate Republican has bitten the dust.

Is it a part of huckabee [sic] christian [sic] beliefs to let criminals out of jail to shoot cops?"

Funny, but when someone like "W" or on the right like Limbaugh makes a stance on tough crime measures, then all we hear is that we need to "give reform a chance" and it is not the right thing to do to lock someone up for the rest of their life for a petty crime. Once they get out, and if it was because a Gov. with an (R) after his title, then he will not have a chance and this will weigh him down.

Being a member of the state that Huckabee was Gov. of, I for one on one hand was glad he did commute some of the people in jails. Running prisons takes a lot out of state budgets. He was sent for 95 years on a aggrevated robbery charge. Now, I guess it will be fine to start locking people up just to be careful when they commit crimes at young ages like this guy did since we are now saying with the comments that the poster made above that there is no chance for redemption.

I am for tough on crime. If this guy is caught, I firmly believe that if the evidnece proves he did it, then no need for a long jail or appeal period, a quick execution will be fine. But Huckabee letting him out had nothing to do with this one. If anything, the current Gov. of WA (with a (D) after his name) is to blame for him being out on the streets for his record he has made for himself being in and out of jails for the crimes he has done up there.

I feel really bad that Huckabee will be associated with this, but well, I felt that Dukakis should not have been blamed for Willie Horton's mayhem, and look what happened. Actually, Dukakis was merely executing a Republican initiative when Will Horton was furloughed. In this case, Huckabee turned this child raping convicted felon loose on society.

From Wikipedia: "Republicans picked up the Horton issue after Dukakis clinched the nomination. In June 1988, Republican candidate George H.W. Bush seized on the Horton case, bringing it up repeatedly in campaign speeches.[6] Bush's campaign manager, Lee Atwater, predicted that "by the time this election is over, Willie Horton will be a household name."[6][7] Media consultant Roger Ailes remarked "the only question is whether we depict Willie Horton with a knife in his hand or without it."[8]"

Kommentator:

Yes. He was paroled in 2000. And just to show what a model citizen he was, this guy goes out and violates parole and gets sent back for another few years. Maybe Huckabee did the right thing? I think that making an assumption that a teenager already doing hard time for armed robbery is going to straighten himself around is assuming way too much.

Let's consider also that a PARDON is a usurpation of the justice system. When Huckabee pardoned this guy, he was saying that he knew more about this guy than the judge and the 12 people who convicted him. I guess he didn't. I sure he guess he didn't. And it looks like those officers and their families paid the price for Huckabee's lack of judgment.

Maybe this guy did not do it. I know one guy who is REALLY hoping this guy did not do it.

I see that he was not "pardoned", but that is sentence was "commuted." Oh. Big difference. Let me explain.

When you PARDON a convict, you are saying that you do not believe that justice was served, and that the convicted person should be freed because they committed no crime. Huckabee did not pardon this guy... no...

When you COMMUTE the sentence of a convict, you tacitly agree that the conviction was appropriate and that justice was served, BUT, you waive the sentence anyway. What the heck? So Huckabee knew this guy was dangerous and a felon: he just didn't care. He saved the state a little money on incarcerating someone convicted for armed robbery and sent him down the highway.

I think we're about to be minus one Maurice.

Ahem. I have heard here and there that Huckabee is a really likable fellow, but get this...

from Huckabee's website:

"Should he (Clemmons) be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State," he wrote.

But that pretty well ignores the fact that if Huckabee had not commuted his sentence, he would be in prison in Arkansas today and those officers would still be alive. You really have to go out of your way to commute someone's sentence, so saying that this is a natural course of events and putting the responsibility on someone else is just deplorable. Huckabee is washing his hands of this. How biblical.

Damn, give him a mohican and it could be B.A Barracus.

I hope there's no welding gear in that house....

It's rather repulsive how you guys have turned this tragedy into an political screed. Get back on topic.

"We have determined that in fact he has been shot."

Good.

If Clemmons had not been paroled he wouldn't be able to kill these four police officers. It might not be the direct topic as you'd like to stay with, but it's a real truth. Mike Huckabee allowed Clemmons to walk the streets of law abiding citizens again. < :-)

Knitting?

Crochet?

Madverts, sure, knitting and crochet sound good, but with their fingers... no needles!

Seriously though, scenes of iron pumping give the impression of grudges being worked on, polished and ingrained. I've seen experiments in the USA where prisoners have to take care of dogs, or horses, and this relationship can open up something good internally and have some startling results.

He ain't in there. They just went in the house and he ain't knitting or nothing. < :-)

He escaped from a house that was surrounded police, I believe that appropriate JT response for this type of situation is, how could they let him escapse, incompetent keystone J- errrr US-cops.

He escaped from a house that was surrounded police

There is no evidence that is the case at all. Clemmons was reported to have been in the house by a relative. He apparently took off before police arrived.

It is nice to see all these new converts to the side against pardons and other measures to reduce prison sentence, even if it took Republican involvement to make it politically desirable for them to take up the cause. Now can we expect them to vociferously oppose the calls for pardons for cop-killers Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abu-Jamal?

Calicocat, this is definitely topical. Since when did law-and-order Republicans start releasing cop-killers from prison? It is a good question, especially when Republicans accused Dukakis and others of doing similar things in prior elections. In addition, Huckabee has now involved himself publicly with this crime on HIS own website.

Thanks for the lead in Suzu1: "Now can we expect them to vociferously oppose the calls for pardons for cop-killers Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abu-Jamal?"

How about Wayne Dumond? "http://www.arktimes.com/Articles/ArticleViewer.aspx?ArticleID=154e1aad-fd18-4efd-8d80-b5dab8559419" Ooops. Too late on this one too.

Let me see. On the subject of reduced prison sentences, well, why reduce them? Unless you are consider the 8000 people arrested for marijuana possession every year in Arkansas. "http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01.n490.a08.html" I think that Huckabee's idea was to free up prison space for people caught with small amounts of marijuana by letting rapists, aspiring cop-killers, and armed robbers just walk.

During his tenure as governor, Huckabee pardoned or commuted sentences of 1000+ prisoners, 12 of them convicted murderers "http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Mike_Huckabee_Crime.htm". Why? To make room in prison for people caught with reefer, of course.

He shouldn't have been pardoned in the first place, it doesn't matter if you're Republican or Democrat. I'm neither, and I have to roll my eyes at this discussion because both parties are pretty much the same on crime, being the world police, and wasting taxpayer money. They just talk different about them.

Not that it's really relevant, but a pardon is when you legally forgive a crime. It is not a denial of a crime. Commutation is a reduction in punishment of a crime. It is a specific form of pardon, but not a full pardon. Nonetheless, it is legally speaking a pardon. Again, not really relevant and there's no practical difference other than calling a rose by a different name.

At the end of the day, three Dads and a Mom dead on the floor.

It's rather repulsive how you guys have turned this tragedy into an political screed.

It's rather amazing and hypocritical how the right-wing hates their own tactics turned back on them.

Exactly, the only thing of political relevance here is right wing hypocrisy. Not that the left wing doesn't feign the same in other cases, but we're talking about this one.

There's no excusing letting him out of prison, and not even filing charges in a timely manner after he landed in prison a second time. Even during his original trial he was violent in court.

They need to let out all the people in jail for smoking weed so we can double the prison times of everyone else and let them rot.

Yeah thanks bdiego. "It is a specific form of pardon, but not a full pardon." But no, a commutation is NOT a pardon, you are wrong about that. "Nonetheless, it is legally speaking a pardon." No. Wrong again. I clarified that at about 7 pm last night, if you look at earlier posts.

Huckabee does plenty of pardons too, as you can see in other posts, but in this case it was a commutation, which, I repeat, means that Huckabee believed that the man actually committed the crimes, but did not deserve ANY sentence. As I say above, it is worse in some ways. A PARDON would be given if you believed that the justice system failed in some way and that the man was wrongly convicted. It basically says that the jury and judge were all wrong. A COMMUTATION is issued when one believes that the justice system worked, but that the guy should walk anyway.

You are spot-on about the hypocrisy though. I cannot wait to see FOX news twist itself in a knot trying to be fair and balanced about this. How can they support Huckabee if they are not willing to alienate law enforcement workers across the nation. My bet is that they will avoid it like a hot potato, as the usual right wing nuts on JT are avoiding these threads.

Forget Huckabee. If you don't you are saying that a 95 year sentence on a 17 year old for aggravated robbery is ok. And if you think that is ok, I would say you were crazy. So forget Huckabee. This dude went 9 years and only violated his parole once. So something must have recently happened to set him off.

What I want to know more about is this second degree rape of a child deal. If it was really rape the dude should have remained in jail. Whoever set him free is the problem in that case.

If it was statutory rape it might explain his anger with authorities. Given the silly climate in America about that, I bet he felt his life was over and thought he would take out some cops first. I don't know where Huckabee stands on statutory rape, so he is out of the picture for now.

Really. This whole thing might be about a 16 year old town bicycle.