Spokane7
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December 1, 2009 in Opinion
Editorial: Tell police they’re in your prayers and thoughts
A total of four officers had been shot and killed in Pierce County over the past 30 years. That toll doubled Sunday morning when a cold-blooded assassin entered a coffee shop and executed four Lakeland, Wash., police officers.
The deaths of Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and Officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42, will leave the Lakeland Police Department with permanent scars. But they weren’t just officers. Three fathers and one mother were killed. Nine children are grieving the loss of parents.
There is no explanation for why these officers were gunned down. It appears to be a random act, which has to be terrifying for all members of law enforcement. The fear that lurks in the backs of officers’ minds – and those of their families – has been shoved to the forefront.
This massacre comes after the slaying of Seattle police Officer Timothy Brenton, who was shot while sitting in his patrol car on Halloween night.
Such shootings are so rare that condolences are pouring in from around the globe, according to Lights & Sirens, the police beat blog of the News Tribune in Tacoma. Tens of thousands of people have joined social network pages set up in memoriam.
At present, the focus must be on capturing the culprit and any accomplices. As of Monday afternoon, there had been no arrests. While all murders are horrific, the slaying of officers is an attack on public safety itself. It is an affront to the order we rely on as we go about our daily lives.
In time, the criminal justice system will have to answer the tough questions. If the killer was Maurice Clemmons, why wasn’t he already locked up? He had a lengthy criminal record and there were reports of recent erratic behavior. As Brian Wurts, president of the Lakewood police officers guild, said, “I can’t believe he was out on the street.”
Nine years ago in Arkansas, Clemmons’ sentence was commuted by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee. That made him eligible for parole, which he was granted.
Such shocking events have the power to render us powerless. What can we say? What can we do? But it doesn’t have to be that way.
The best course for Inland Northwest residents is to tell officers that you are sorry about what happened. Despite the headlines about the controversial acts of some officers, law enforcement should be respected for its dedication to keeping us safe. Officers hardly needed this reminder of the dangerous nature of their work, but they would probably appreciate hearing that the people they protect and serve have them in their thoughts and prayers.
We certainly do, and we offer heartfelt condolences.
Don’t fudge fish standard 
Fuschia on December 01 at 6:58 p.m.
So far there is no evidence he went in there with the intent as “a cold-blooded assassin”. His intent has yet to be proven not speculated upon.
“The best course for Inland Northwest residents is to tell officers that you are sorry about what happened.”
I dont believe the Spokesman has the judgment nor the high and mighty right to tell us what to do/think or what not to do/think. Thats up to us. One cant be sorry for what they are not responsible for otherwise its just lip speak.
After the Spokesman’s own Security Supervisor was discovered to be a child molester/Pornographer for near a decade, we never heard any self explanatory nor apology on that one to the public. The Spokesman has still yet to divulge the “computer expert” who lost hours of the Jim West entrapment scheme. It like RPS, Jo Savage and many of the other skeletons of the Spokesman/Cowles was quietly hushed away to avoid public inspection.
If it wasn’t for the great reporters/cameramen the Spokesman would be thinner than toilet paper from Costco. Craigslist has already choked off its revenue stream.
biasedopinion on December 02 at 5:29 a.m.
I agree with you. There is no evidence that he went there as an assassin.
Hell, he went there for a good ole cup of Joe. However, after he got in there he saw 4 cops preparing for their day. Suddenly he decided that instead of getting a caffeine fix that he would kill 4 cops.
What fantasy land do you live in?
His intent will probably never be “proven”. It will not be proven because he will never tell us.
I am sure in your world that he was probably approaching the “lone” Seattle Police Officer, while he was doing paperwork with the intent to surrender.
However, he abandoned surrendering when the officer jumped out of his car and ordered him to stop. He was probably scared as he ran behind the stolen car, not looking for cover. He was probably so scared that he reached for the gun of a dead Lakewood officer’s gun that just happened to be in his waistband.
Unlike you, I will not discount statements made by Clemons while he still walked among us. “Clemmons asked Hinton, described as his half-brother, for keys to his white pickup, and told the men they should keep their eyes on the TV because he planned to kill police, according to charging documents and Troyer.”
While you make excuses as to things not proven, I, like most rational people, will take the position of not needing to have things “proven”, but will accept his deadly actions of proof of his mindset when he entered the coffee shop.
Fuschia on December 02 at 3:58 p.m.
^The only four words of value were the first four. All else is an ad hominem attack.
biasedopinion on December 02 at 10:10 p.m.
“One of the most widely misused terms on the Net is “ad hominem”. It is most often introduced into a discussion by certain delicate types, delicate of personality and mind, whenever their opponents resort to a bit of sarcasm. As soon as the suspicion of an insult appears, they summon the angels of ad hominem to smite down their foes, before ascending to argument heaven in a blaze of sanctimonious glory. They may not have much up top, but by God, they don’t need it when they’ve got ad hominem on their side. It’s the secret weapon that delivers them from any argument unscathed.
Actual instances of argumentum ad hominem are relatively rare. Ironically, the fallacy is most often committed by those who accuse their opponents of ad hominem, since they try to dismiss the opposition not by engaging with their arguments, but by claiming that they resort to personal attacks. Those who are quick to squeal “ad hominem” are often guilty of several other logical fallacies, including one of the worst of all: the fallacious belief that introducing an impressive-sounding Latin term somehow gives one the decisive edge in an argument. ”
Yeah….what he said.
Off topic, but interesting nonetheless. Fuschia sounds remarkably similar to Rifleman__Dodd who appears to have been banned 3 days ago.
Fuschia makes an appearance onto the Spokesman website 2 days ago. Coincidence….hmmm……I don’t think so!
So what is the story did you (Rifleman__Dodd & Rifleman___Dodd (the 2nd identity only managed one post before apparently being blocked) actually get kicked out of here or what?
Fuschia on December 03 at 12:05 a.m.
^Stalker.