2009 shooting of Lakewood, Washington, police officers

2009 shooting of Lakewood, Washington, police officers
The Lakewood Police Department Fallen Officer Memorial, which honors the shooting victims.
Location	Parkland, Washington, U.S.
Date	November 29, 2009 (2009-11-29) 8:15 a.m. (UTC-8)
Attack type	Ambush shooting
Weapons	Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol
Deaths	5 (including perpetrator)
Perpetrator	Maurice Clemmons

On November 29, 2009, four police officers of Lakewood, Washington were fatally shot at the now-closed Forza Coffee Co. coffee shop, which was located at 11401 Steele Street South in the Parkland unincorporated area of Pierce County, Washington. One gunman, later identified as Maurice Clemmons, entered the coffee shop, fired at the officers as they sat working on their laptop computers preparing for their shifts, and then fled the scene. After a two-day manhunt that spanned several cities in the Puget Sound region, the gunman was shot and killed by a Seattle Police Department officer in south Seattle after refusing orders to stop.

The shooting is believed to have been a targeted attack against police officers, and came less than a month after the murder of Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton under similar circumstances nearly 40 miles (64 km) to the north. Another shooting involving Pierce County sheriff's deputies occurred three weeks after in Eatonville, on December 21, when two deputies were shot and critically injured (one later died from his injuries) by a man, who was then shot dead. It is believed to be the most deadly attack on law enforcement in the state of Washington, and at the time the deadliest attack on law enforcement in the United States since the March 21, 2009, shootings that left four Oakland, California, police officers dead. The four were the first Lakewood police officers to be killed in the line of duty since the department's establishment in 2004.

Although Clemmons was killed by police, six other people were charged in connection with the murders. All six are friends and family of Clemmons who aided him in escaping the scene and eluding capture. One was convicted in June 2010 and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. In December 2010, three of four accused suspects were found guilty of rendering criminal assistance. In May 2011, Darcus Allen, the getaway driver and remaining suspect, was convicted of four counts of murder and sentenced to 420 years in prison the following month. The convictions were later reversed on appeal due to misconduct by the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office.