Suspect on Street Points Gun at Officers as They Drive By Officer-Involved Shooting Occurs NR12011rf

Los Angeles: A male suspect threatened police officers with a gun, resulting in an officer-involved shooting.

Shortly after 9 a.m. on Dec. 30, 2011, LAPD 77th Area Police Officer II Maricela Coss (eight years, 11 months with the Department) and Police Officer II Obed Avis (nine years, six months with the Department) were driving by 108th Street and Grand Avenue on their way to LAPD’s Southeast Area Community Police Station when they saw 22-year-old Daniel Morris on the street pointing a handgun at them.

At that moment, an officer-involved shooting occurred, and the officers requested help. Morris wasn’t hit by gunfire, but was taken into custody with the help of additional officers who were responding to the incident.

A replica of a firearm was recovered at the scene and no officers were injured during the incident.

The LAPD Force Investigation Division responded to the incident and will conduct a thorough investigation of the officer-involved shooting and all related crimes. The investigation will ultimately be reviewed by the Office of the Chief of Police, the Office of the Inspector General and Board of Police Commissioners for compliance with the Department’s use-of-force policy, which states that an officer’s use-of-force actions must be objectively reasonable.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to call the FID at 213-486-5230. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247).  Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477). Tipsters may also contact Crime Stoppers by texting to phone number 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S on most keypads) with a cell phone.  All text messages should begin with the letters “LAPD.”  Tipsters may also go to LAPDOnline.org, click on "webtips" and follow the prompts.