Sgt. Mark Renninger

Sunday morning (Nov. 29th) four Lakewood Police Officers were shot and killed in a coffee shop when a suspect suddenly opened fire, and one of the victims, Sgt. Mark Renninger, served eight years with the Tukwila Police Department.

Here’s the most recent report:

Sergeant Mark Renninger, Officer Tina Griswold, Officer Greg Richards, and Officer Ronald Owen were shot and killed at a coffee shop in the Lakewood area.

A man entered a coffee shop where the four officers were working on their laptop computers. He stood in line and when he reached the counter he pulled a gun out of his coat and turned and started firing at the four officers. Two officers were hit before they could react, one officer was shot as he attempted to struggle with the gunman, and another officer fired toward the gunman as he fled, and may have hit him. Two employees and other customers were inside the coffee shop, but were not shot or injured. All four officers died at the scene.

Renninger was born and raised in Bethlehem, PA, and served in the military. He was one of six siblings, served with the Tukwila P.D., and was most recently a member of the Lakewood Police and S.W.A.T. team. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Along with Sgt. Renninger, others slain include Officer Tina Griswold, Officer Greg Richards, and Officer Ronald Owen.

Griswold is survived by her husband and two children, Richards by his wife and three children, and Owen by his daughter.

On Sunday, numerous Facebook pages were created in the officers’ honors, including:

• A Facebook page was created in memory of Renninger
• A Facebook page for the four slain officers
• Another Facebook group created for all officers

Maurice Clemmons

The suspect has been identified as Maurice Clemmons, 37, of Tacoma. He apparently has a long criminal record with evidence of violence, erratic behavior as well as potential mental health issues.

We here at The B-Town Blog (along with all our sister sites) send our condolences to all the families and friends, and hope that justice is served for this heinous crime.

If you were in the vicinity of Red Robin on Southcenter Blvd. in Tukwila on Saturday you may have noticed an unusually large gathering of police cars, fire trucks, and even a SWAT paddy wagon along with numerous uniformed officers.

No, it wasn’t a police raid on the burger joint – it was the annual “Tip A Cop” fundraiser for Special Olympics.

“Tip A Cop” is a major fundraiser put on at Red Robins throughout Washington as well as many other states. It ran from Noon to 8pm Saturday, and the idea is this:

• For a minimum donation of $5, you could have a friend (or family member) “arrested,” handcuffed and taken outside to a waiting SWAT paddy wagon by a real, uniformed police officer.
• All donations went to Special Olympics.
• Saturday’s goal was to raise $5,000.
• Officers from the Tukwila Police Department were there, along with members of the Washington State Patrol, Recruits from the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center in Burien, as well as area Police Explorers.
• Departments from around the US compete against each other, and this year, according to Tukwila Officer Ted Rutt, the main competition was against the state of Colorado.
• The last Special Olympics fundraiser these guys pulled off was the Polar Bear Plunge on Valentine’s Day (read the story and watch our exclusive video here)
• “Tip-A-Cop” is part of the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) campaign, which includes a series of relay runs and other fundraisers represented by more than 85,000 law enforcement officers worldwide to help raise money and public awareness for Special Olympics.

Our own Scott Schaefer was there, and he took these photos: