Slain Lakewood officers had Tri-City ties

The ambush slaying of four officers as they prepared to start their shift Sunday was a horrific example of the dangers of the job and put law enforcement officers around the state on alert.

On Tuesday morning, Tacoma police reported that a Seattle patrolman shot and killed the suspect, Maurice Clemmons.

"It's a constant reminder for officers to be aware of their surroundings and what's going on around them," said Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg. "It's touched a lot of people here at the Kennewick Police Department, but they still go to work and put on a brave face."

Flags are being flown at half staff around the state and officers have placed black bands -- called mourning ribbons -- across their badges.

Lakewood police Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42, were gunned down as they worked on their laptops at the Forza coffee shop in Parkland.

Many Tri-City officers knew one of the slain officers -- or know someone who does.

Renninger was a board member and instructor for the Washington State Tactical Officers Association. Some local officers also serve on the board and many have attended training with Renninger or were taught by him.

Owens started his law enforcement career near the Tri-Cities as a trooper-cadet assigned to the Washington State Patrol's commercial vehicle division in Plymouth.

Owens worked at the Port of Entry weigh station near the southern edge of Benton County from August 1997 to January 1999, officials said Monday. He then spent the rest of his seven-year career with the state patrol as a trooper in King and Pierce counties before joining the Lakewood Police Department in 2004.

"While we have many ranks and honors that we offer for exemplary service, the most coveted honor is to simply be respected by your colleagues as 'a good troop,' " State Patrol Chief John R. Batiste said in a news release. "Ron Owens was most definitely a good troop."

But even if officers didn't personally know the four who were killed, the impact of the murders still hits close to home, said Richland police Capt. Mike Cobb.

"You look in the mirror and you see them," Cobb said. "You really do become as close or closer with the people you work with than the people you're genetically linked to. ... It does take a toll."

Officers are grieving and dealing with a wide range of emotions -- anger, frustration, sadness -- while also searching for answers.

"It's not like you can do a whole lot about any of the circumstances that got us here," Cobb said. "This is upsetting and police are human beings first, but as a discipline we are quite loyal and quite passionate about what we do and the people we work with.

"We care about our community and each other and our families a lot," he added. "To think there are four people who have lost their spouses and nine children who have lost their parent is absolutely heartbreaking."

Both Cobb and Hohenberg say officers really do meet more good people than bad people in their line of work, but they still have to be prepared to deal with all types of situations.

It's a balancing act to stay transparent, professional, approachable and community-oriented, while also being safe, they said.

"We can't deal with every member of the public as if they're an enemy," Cobb said. "When something like this happens ... we try to figure out a way we can better balance safety and not lose the support of our community. I don't have an answer for that."

Chief Hohenberg said he feels fortunate to live in a community that has great support for their police agencies and works with officers to help keep it safe. Tragedies like Sunday's shooting also remind him about the words inscribed at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., that read, "It is not how these officers died that made them heroes it is how they lived."

"It's very, very fitting," Hohenberg said. "If you look at police officers in Kennewick and see how active they are in the community ... they truly do live up to that writing that is clear across the country."

Knowing that the four Lakewood officers met daily to plan their shift "speaks to an amazing level of professionalism," Capt. Cobb said.

"And it really indicates the character and quality of the officers that were killed," he added. "We see that in every police office, sheriff's office and state patrol detachment across the Pacific Northwest."

-- Paula Horton: 509-582-1556; phorton@tricityherald.com