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Manhunt for Maurice Clemmons Continues After House Found Empty

by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke | November 30, 2009 at 03:55 am

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Police, who have been searching for a person of interest in the shooting of four police officers near McChord AFB early Sunday morning, are surrounding a home in Seattle this morning. The standoff started around 8:30 PST Sunday evening.

The person of interest is Maurice Clemmons. He had been serving a lengthy prison sentence in Arkansas and was given clemency for then Arkansas governor Huckabee.

Negotiators are in the process of attempting to get Clemmons to surrender without incidence. The home was surrounded on an anonymous tip.

Officers shone lights on the house and called out to Clemmons, 37 by name. The negotiators told Clemons that they would like to get him out safely and that this is one of the most important decisions he would make in his life.

Shortly aftewards there was a big bang and shot rang out, probably from the police, breaking glass, to show Clemmons that they had him surrounded. They told him they were not going away.

Police send a robot into the house and found that Clemmons was not there. The house was Clemmons' aunts house.

Witnesses later reported that Clemmons was seen getting off a bus near Washington U. An advisory has been issued that the may be in or in the vicinity of Washington U.

The police is certain that Clemmons is wounded and has a gunshot wound in his abdomen. This is a serious injury and Clemmons will be looking for treatment.

A news conference concluded at 9:15 PST. Short statements were made by the Mayor and Chief of the Lakewood Police Department. The essence of the statements was:

While our hearts may be broken, our resolve is not.

Priorities:

Comfort the families and members of the Lakewood police department;

Pursuit of suspect of this crime.

The police chief said that this was a young police department, which had only been formed in 2004 and the four murdered officers were original members. He said that the police department will get through this and that they will triumph.

He met the families yesterday and that it was the hardest thing he ever did and hoped he would never have to do it again.

He asked to respect their privacy while they deal with this.

He said "How are we doing". He pointed at his officer lined up behind him and said we are doing good and although this is very hard they would continue to do their job and be there for the community.

The hunt has now moved from the Campus of Washington U south to the Beacon hill area.

The reality of finding the house empty this morning, after police stormed it, has put a new sense of urgency to hunt down Clemmons. Authorities have no put up a $125,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

SEATTLE - A heavily armed SWAT team stormed a Seattle home Monday where they thought they had cornered the suspect in the slaying of four Lakewood police officers officers at a coffee shop, only to find out that he was not in the house and still on the loose.

The discovery added new urgency to the manhunt for Maurice Clemmons as police canvassed the neighborhood with search dogs and hundreds of officers were deployed around Seattle for any sign of the suspect. Authorities put up a $125,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Police around the region had been searching for Maurice Clemmons, 37, whom they say was near the coffee shop some 30 miles away from the Seattle house.

Officers surrounding the house shone lights on the house and called out to Clemmons by name, saying: "Mr. Clemmons, I'd like to get you out of there safely. I can tell you this, we are not going away."

Any response from inside the house was inaudible from the vantage of a photographer for The Associated Press. But shortly thereafter, police began using sirens outside the house, and there were several loud bangs before the negotiator resumed speaking.

"This is one of the toughest decisions you'll make in your life, but you need to man up."