QUESTION: State Settles With Families of Three of Lakewood's Fallen Four Officers

QUESTION: Is the reported $12.5 million settlement between the state and the survivors of Lakewood police Sgt. Mark Renninger, and officers Greg Richards and Tina Griswold appropriate?

The state has settled with the families of three of Lakewood's Fallen Four police officers who were killed at a coffee shop shooting November 2009.

The News Tribune's Adam Lynn is reporting that the state Department of Corrections has settled with the familes Sgt. Mark Renninger, and officers Greg Richards and Tina Griswold.

Survivors of Rennigner and Richards will each receive $5 million, while Griswold's survivors will receive $2.5 million, according to the newspaper.

The claim from the survivors of Officer Ronald Owens, the fourth Lakewood police officer killed during the shooting, is still pending.

The four officers were shot dead at a Parkland Forza in November 2009 by Maurice Clemmons, a convicted felon whom the families argued was not being properly monitored by authorities.

Clemmons was on probation in his home state of Arkansas when he moved to Washington before the shootings, according to the newspaper.

There was an obvious outpour of support for the victims' families in the weeks and months following the shooting. However, when those families announced they were suing Pierce County for damages in 2010, a large public backlash ensued and the families eventually dropped the suit.

Two years later, a chapter with three of the families is closed. Both sides say the settlement not only benefits the families, but the survivors' fight has helped shine a brighter light on monitoring convicted felons.

So we ask you, Patch users, do you think the settlements are appropriate? Were they enough? Will they result in closer monitoring of felons? Tell us in the comments below.