Suspect in killing of 4 officers is shot to death

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

SEATTLE — Maurice Clemmons, the suspect wanted in the slaying of four Lakewood, Wash., police officers, was shot and killed in Seattle early Tuesday by a Seattle police officer making a routine check of a stolen car.

The shooting occurred about the same time as Pierce County, Wash., sheriff’s detectives took into custody a man believed to have acted as a getaway driver in Sunday’s slayings of the Lakewood officers. Police also booked four people into jail on suspicion of providing assistance to Clemmons, said sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer.

One of those arrested is the alleged getaway driver and is believed to be a former cellmate of Clemmons’ in Arkansas, according to law enforcement and KIRO-TV.

Several other people also will be taken into custody for helping Clemmons, Troyer said.

Clemmons, who was armed with a handgun taken from one of the officers he is accused of killing, was shot during a confrontation with a patrol officer, police officials said. He refused commands to stop and was shot by the officer about 2:45 a.m. (PST), the officials said.

Troyer said Clemmons had an older wound to his stomach believed to be the result of a gunshot fired by one of the Lakewood officers who was killed Sunday. Troyer said he was surprised Clemmons survived that wound.

Troyer praised the Seattle officer who shot Clemmons, saying the officer was lucky he wasn’t killed. The officer has been placed on routine administrative leave.

The officer’s name was not released, but a law-enforcement source identified him as Benjamin L. Kelly, 39, who joined the department 41‚Ñ2 years ago. He was not injured.

Seattle police said the officer was on routine patrol when he saw a car with the hood up and the engine running. The officer ran the license plate and determined the car had been stolen, said Seattle Assistant Chief Jim Pugel.

Clemmons has been the focus of a massive manhunt since Sunday morning, when he is accused of killing four Lakewood police officers in a coffee shop in Parkland, Wash.

Troyer said Clemmons’ relatives and friends provided him with medical assistance, cell phones and money and were making arrangements to help him leave the state. Some people provided misleading information to hinder the search for Clemmons, he said.