2 Tampa police officers killed in shooting during traffic stop; convict sought for questioning

Convict sought in deaths of 2 Tampa officers

TAMPA, Fla. — Police were searching Tuesday for a convict charged with fatally shooting two Tampa police officers during an early morning traffic stop of a car that didn’t have a visible license plate.

Officer David Curtis pulled over a man and woman driving a red Toyota Camry around 2:15 a.m., and called for backup after seeing the man was wanted in Jacksonville for writing a bad check.

Curtis and officer Jeffrey Kocab approached the passenger side, and six minutes later a witness called 911 to report they were shot. The officers, both 31, were pronounced dead at a hospital.

“The crime scene was horrible,” said Tampa Police Officer Jeremy Larson, a friend of Curtis and one of the first responders.

Police launched a manhunt for 24-year-old Dontae Rashawn Morris, who faces two counts of first-degree murder and a single count of felony possession of a firearm.

“We know who he is and we’re going to find him,” Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor said,

Investigators were interviewing 22-year-old Cortnee Nicole Brantly, who they believe was driving. No charges against her were immediately announced.

Morris was released from prison in April after serving 2 years for the possession and sale of cocaine. He also spent about nine months in jail on other cocaine charges in 2004, according to prison records.

The St. Petersburg Times reported that Morris beat charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, attempted robbery and possession of a short-barreled shotgun in 2006.

Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor and Mayor Pam Iorio announced Kocab’s death at a hospital news conference. Dozens of somber officers crowded the scene.

Kocab, who had been on the force for 14 months, and is survived by a wife nine months pregnant with their first child. Kocab was previously an officer for the Plant City Police Department in rural Hillsborough County, and won the department’s officer of the year award in 2007.

“He loved his job,” Tampa officer Whitney McCormick said. “He was one of the best.”

Curtis, a father of four boys, had nearly four years with the department, including a rotation on an elite vice unit. Doctors were keeping him on life support as they prepared to harvest his organs at the family’s request. He was originally from Mobile, Ala.

“He loved his wife and children with everything he had,” said Tampa officer Larson, choking up during a news conference. “If you could imagine the perfect family, that would be Dave’s family.”

This is the third fatal shooting of a Tampa officer in less than a year, and the second violent attack against law enforcement in less than a week. Two Polk County deputies were shot early Friday in Lakeland after stopping a man riding a bicycle. They are expected to recover.

“It’s just been heart wrenching as the family members have said goodbye to their loved ones and then it’s been heart wrenching to see the officers and how much they respect them,” Iorio said.

Associated Press Writer Kelli Kennedy contributed to this report from Miami.

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