Dontae Morris, suspect in Tampa police shooting death, surrenders

TBO.com ^ | July 2, 2010 | TBO.com

[Brandonmark]

An intense, four-day manhunt ended tonight when the man wanted in the fatal shooting of two Tampa police officers surrendered.

Police confirmed DontaeRashawn Morris, 24, was taken into custody about 10 p.m. – about 12 hours before the officers' funerals were slated to begin.

"It is so important to bring closure to this before the funeral tomorrow," Iorio said tonight.

"Thank God he's behind bars right now," Chief Jane Castor said at a late-night press conference. "I can't tell you how relieved the men and women of the Tampa Police Department are.''

Morris is being charged in the slayings of Officers David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab, who were killed Tuesday when they tried to arrest Morris on misdemeanor worthless check charges during a traffic stop. Morris also is a suspect in two other murders.

Officers from more than 15 local, state and federal agencies had hunted Morris since the early Tuesday shooting in East Tampa.

Also tonight, police arrested the woman they say was driving the red 1994 Toyota Camry stopped by Curtis just before he and Kocab were killed. Police said Morris was the Camry's passenger and that after the shooting, driver Cortnee Nicole Brantley drove from the scene while Morris ran

[EDINVA]

The capture will probably give some measure of comfort to the families and fellow Blues. Just a frustratingly sad story.

[EDINVA]

If he turned himself in, can’t we assume the cops will have a confession? If so, there’d only be a trial on the punishment, although I believe killing a police officer is the auto death penalty.

I’m glad he didn’t die in a shootout, that would have been too quick. The story said he was ‘acting nervous’ when arrested .... let him learn what being nervous is, let him have to think about his victims and their families while he fights off the prison gangs.

[hatfieldmccoy]

[One Name]

That’s cool in warfare. I believe this was a law enforcement situation. Can you make the distinction?

When I first got in the prison business in the early 80’s when construction went to crap, there were a lot of Viet Nam vets going into law enforcement.

They had mixed abilities to make the civilian transition.

I’m not convinced you have the discernment. You may, but I’m not persuaded by your logic.

[MIlle]

“I’m sure if you had been murdered they would have worked just as hard to catch your killer.”

When I was a younger person (in my early 20’s), I used to have that attitude toward the police and their sudden, fevered motivation to quickly apprehend anyone involved in an attack on a fellow LEO. Then a friend of mine (of all things, a MAJOR liberal Democrat) explained to me that the police are the thin blue line between us and the really bad, nasty, creepy thugs of the world who would just as soon rape, rob or murder us as look at us. We have an obligation to understand that they are the domestic version of our troops fighting the enemy overseas and we must allow them the right to give preference to their brothers-in-arms.

Ever since she straightened me out, I’m much more deferential towards the men in blue. And I can tell you from experience, when you need them, they sure are a welcome sight when they arrive.

[CurlyDave]

And I can tell you from experience, when you need them, they sure are a welcome sight when they arrive.

In my entire 65 years, I have only once welcomed the sight of the police. And if concealed carry had been legal in that state, I wouldn't have needed them at all.

[MIlle]

I have been awfully happy to see them on several occasions (women probably have a different view on this topic than men, for obvious reasons). Also, I’m generally law-abiding, so I rarely have any reason to be unhappy when they show up (although that was not the case at any point during the 6 or 8 times I’ve gotten speeding tickets).

[Diplomat]

Having had way too many encounters with law enforcement where they refused to do their job, as well as having them directly lie to my face, on camera no less, I know this is utter crap. My wife comes from small town US and even there, the police force was nothing more than a UNION democrat fiefdom. Anyone who believes that they are not and will not be willing foot soldiers in the continued destruction of freedom in American is kidding themselves. Would you get away with the harassment my wife faced from the wonderkid super cop, all because she didn't want to date/sleep with him?

I've witnessed too many examples where their crimes, committed outside the line of duty mind you, resulted in no, or far lesser punishment than those of us outside the system received.

Years back in California, the legislature passed a law that revoked your right to bear arms if you had ever been convicted of domestic violence. Do you want to guess the group of people who got exempted from this law, even though the law as written made no distinctions as to profession?

Are they better than you or I? Are the superior to you and I? Is this America or Amerika?

[MIlle]

Like, you, I have had my encounters with the low-life element in law enforcement and with their occassional abuses of power. However, they are not the majority. I have chosen not to let my personal baggage get in the way when I find it necessary to call on police help.

The police are paid poorly yet have to deal with physical and verbal abuse every day. As a deputy friend once told me, she’s had perps leave behind every imaginable bodily fluid in her duty vehicle, which she has to clean up.

None of us would want that job for the peanuts it pays and the work conditions. While I’ve run into a few a-holes in my checkered traffic history, overall, I honor those who pursue law enforcement as the honorable career they mean it to be.