Maurice Leroy Cox, 38

Los Angeles, California
March 01, 2008

Agencies: Los Angeles Police Department California LAPD

Cause of death: Shooting


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Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

Maurice LeRoy Cox, a 38-year-old black man, was mortally wounded in an officer-involved shooting at about 7:30 p.m. near the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Slauson Avenue in Hyde Park on Saturday, March 1.

The incident began when officers from LAPD's South Traffic Division saw a gray pickup truck speeding south on Crenshaw Boulevard. The pickup truck then crashed into a palm tree. As officers approached the truck, Cox, while reaching for the glove compartment, told officers to "move away or he would kill them," police said. Officers from LAPDs 77th Street and Southwest divisions responded to the site to assist the officers. A perimeter was set up along Slauson Avenue, while Cox remained barricaded inside his truck.

Cox was an unarmed motorist who was holding a cigarette lighter that police “thought was a gun".

Legal Action

July 2008 Lawsuit filed

December 2010 Verdict: Jury sides with officer