2009 Lakewood shooting location

This is the coffee shop where the 2009 Lakewood shooting took place.

It is located at 11401 Steele Street South in Parkland, Washington.

At the time of the murders, it was called Forza Coffee. In more recent times, the unit has become home to Blue Steele Coffee.

Shootings

On the morning of November 29th, 2009, four police officers from the same patrol unit were working on their laptops at the coffee shop.

The officers, who worked for the Lakewood Police Department, were preparing for their Sunday shift.

At 8.15 a.m., a convicted felon named Maurice Clemmons opened the door and walked up to the counter.

Clemmons, who was described as being "scruffy-looking," reportedly stood at the counter in silence.

When a barista asked him if she could help him, he didn't answer. Instead, he opened his jacket, pulled out a Glock 17 9mm, and began firing at the seated officers.

Although the officers were all wearing bulletproof vests, the sudden, close-range nature of the attack gave them almost no chance of survival.

Officer Tina Griswold and Sergeant Mark Renninger were immediately killed, as Clemmons shot them both in the head while they were sitting down and looking at their laptops.

When the gunfire erupted, Officer Ronald Owens attempted to stand up and return fire. However, he was shot in the neck before he could pull out his handgun.

The final victim of the ambush was Officer Greg Richards, who was shot in the head. Despite being fatally wounded, Richards managed to shoot Clemmons in the stomach before he lost consciousness and died.

Following the attack, the injured Clemmons stepped over the officers' bodies, picked up Richards' service weapon, and exited the coffee shop. He then jogged over to a white pickup truck, which was being driven by his friend, Dorcus Allen.

Manhunt

The convicted felon was identified as the shooter after blood from his stomach wound led to a DNA match. Surveillance footage and eyewitness accounts also confirmed his involvement.

The attack was believed to be against the police in general, as he had no prior dealings with any of the victims.

For the next two days, Clemmons managed to evade a massive statewide manhunt.

Then, in the early hours of December 1st, a patrol officer named Benjamin Kelly happened across a stolen Acura Integra in the South End of Seattle. The seemingly abandoned car had caught Kelly's attention because the engine was running and its front hood was up.

After running the plates and learning that the Integra was stolen, he sat in his patrol car and proceeded to report its location. However, as he was doing so, he noticed that a man matching Clemmons' description was approaching him from behind.

When Officer Kelly jumped out of the vehicle and ordered Clemmons to stop, the wanted killer ignored the warnings and ran around to the other side of the patrol car. He then began to reach for a handgun in his front pocket.

At that point, Officer Kelly opened fire and shot him dead.

Photos

Photos of the coffee shop and other related images.

Forza Coffee

The shootings took place in unit #108, which housed Forza Coffee. Nowadays, the unit is home to another coffee shop called Blue Steele Coffee.

The Google Street View image at the bottom was taken in May 2019.

Maurice Clemmons

This Google Street View image shows the western side of the coffee shop.

On the right, we've added a mugshot of Maurice Clemmons, who had a long history of committing violent crimes.

At the time of the murders, he was out on bail for second-degree rape of a child and assaulting a police officer.

He was released on bail on November 23rd, 2009, after his family raised $40,000 and put their homes up as collateral. That was just six days before he walked into Forza Coffee and ambushed the officers.

Lakewood shooting memorial site

The city erected a memorial for the four officers near the entrance. The road was also renamed Officer Memorial Drive.

The memorial contains a quote from retired Lakewood Police Chief Bret Farrar:

"To an officer, they would tell you: On November 29th, I was doing my duty. And there is no higher calling than doing one's duty, and serving well."

Pictured at the top, from left to right, are Sergeant Mark Renninger (39), Officer Ronald Owens (37), Officer Tina Griswold (40), and Officer Greg Richards (42).

Renninger and Griswold were killed first, as Clemmons suddenly opened fire on them while they were seated.

Kenyon Street

Clemmons was shot dead by Officer Benjamin Kelly in the early hours of December 1st, 2008.

The confrontation took place in the 4400 block of Kenyon Street in Seattle at roughly 2:45 a.m.

Kelly fired several shots at Clemmons, two of which hit him. The wanted man then collapsed on the northern side of the street, near 44th Place Street.

Afterwards, a gun was found in his sweatshirt.

The serial number showed that it was the same service weapon he had stolen from Officer Greg Richards.