Like other police agencies in the area, the Bonney Lake and Sumner departments have assisted the Lakewood Police Department since the Nov. 29 murders of four officers inside a Parkland coffee shop.

Killed were Sgt. Mark Renninger and officers Ronald Owens, 37; Tina Griswold, 40; and Greg Richards, 42.

Bonney Lake Police Chief Mike Mitchell said because many of his officers know and have worked with members of the Lakewood force, the deaths have affected his officers – whether they knew the slain officers or a member of the Lakewood department.

“Everyone in our police department is affected by this,” Mitchell said. “We worked with each one of them, knew them personally, and it truly is a tragedy.”

Miitchell said one of his officers was a high school friend of one of four officers who died.

The day of the murders, Mitchell was notified by text message about the shootings about 9 a.m., then went to help coordinate assistance for Lakewood. Mitchell thought originally it was four Piece County Sheriff’s deputies, but found out it later it was four Lakewood officers.

Mitchell said he had a photograph of the suspect – 37-year-old male Maurice Clemmons – about noon, the day of the shootings.

“The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office was on top of a person of interest fairly quickly,” he said.

Mitchell said some of his officers and investigators assisted in efforts to locate Clemmons in the Seattle area.

One of the officers killed – Renninger – was known by many of the Bonney Lake officers. Mitchell said the 39-year-old Renninger was the team leader for the Metro SWAT unit.

“That was a big loss for everybody in this department,” Mitchell said.

He said his officers have been on multiple high-risk missions and been in position where their lives were on the line and depended on Renninger.

“He was kind of like the father figure for everybody on the SWAT team and everybody here,” Mitchell said. “He was training them, pushing them that they do their best.”

Renninger, a Bethelem, Pa., native, had 13 years of law enforcement experience, five with Lakewood and eight with the Tukwila department.

He is survived by his wife and three children.

Mitchell said all of the area police departments have been affected by the slayings.

“We all work together on so many aspects,” Mitchell said. “We’re a bunch of smaller cities, but we’re truly giving big city service to every agency because we work together so well.”

Mitchell said six of his officers are assisting Lakewood with patrol and staying near the home of the deceased officers’ families.

“They are volunteering to help on their days off,” Mitchell said. “Because we don’t know the Lakewood area, our officers are partnering up with a Lakewood officer.”

The day of the shooting, Mitchell sent an e-mail to his officers asking them to be “aware of your surrounding, stay vigilant and safe as there maybe others that want to copy cat the events that occurred this morning.”

Some of the Bonney Lake officers – including Assistant Police Chief Dana Powers – were on hand for the procession carrying the four officers’ bodies from the county’s Medical Examiner’s Office in Tacoma to Mountain View Funeral Home in Lakewood.

Four Lakewood Fire Department Medic One units carried the bodies of the deceased officers.

Mitchell said a group of Bonney Lake officers were to attend Tuesday’s memorial service in Tacoma Dome. Powers assisted in the video presentation of the four officers for the service.

“If I could let everyone off, they’d be there,” Mitchell said.

He said he kept the normal staffing levels, in addition to using volunteers to answer phones and handle other duties Tuesday.

Bonney Lake and Sumner police, along with many state and local agencies, wore a black band over badges until the memorial service.

Members of East Pierce Fire and Rescue, including a fire engine and medic unit, were part of the memorial service.