Crime Expert Challenges Deputy Conduct in Fatal Oakleaf Shooting

OAKLEAF PLANTATION, Fla. — A man fatally shot by deputies on Saturday in Oakleaf Plantation had an outstanding homicide warrant from Mississippi, as reported by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

The individual was identified as 48-year-old Morris Anthony Davis.

The Vicksburg Police Department informed First Coast News that Davis faced murder charges in 2013, which were forwarded to a grand jury in 2014. However, the current status of this case is not specified.

According to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, deputies came across Davis while they were supporting the Florida Department of Children and Families in an investigation at a Silver Bluff neighborhood residence in Oakleaf Plantation. It was during this operation that deputies became aware of Davis’ outstanding warrant.

Deputies said Davis, armed with two knives, ran from the home and resisted efforts to take him into custody.

According to the sheriff’s office, Davis ran into a neighbor’s backyard, where deputies attempted to de-escalate the situation. Investigators said deputies tried multiple times to use a taser, but those efforts were unsuccessful.

Deputies said Davis was ultimately shot by Deputy D. Brown and, despite life-saving efforts, died at the scene.

The shooting is now under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the State Attorney’s Office. Per department policy, Brown has been placed on administrative leave while the sheriff’s office conducts a use-of-force review.

New cellphone video obtained after the shooting shows moments leading up to the deadly encounter.

In the video, Davis can be heard saying, “Please kill me. I’d rather die than be sent back to jail,” while deputies repeatedly order him to drop a knife. Davis is seen on the ground holding what looks like a kitchen knife while multiple deputies stand several feet away with weapons drawn.

The Clay County chapter of the NAACP is now calling for a full and thorough investigation into the shooting.

First Coast News crime and safety expert and former law enforcement officer, Ken Jefferson, reviewed the cellphone video. 

“It was a pretty disturbing video just to watch,” Jefferson said.

Jefferson said Davis appeared to be in a mental health crisis, pointing to repeated statements heard in the video where Davis asked deputies to kill him rather than return to jail.

While Jefferson acknowledged Davis was armed and remained a threat because he still had a knife, he questioned whether deadly force was necessary at the moment shots were fired.

“My question is, if he’s on the ground, even though he has a knife, you’re far enough away, there’s no apparent danger to the officers or anyone else, why don’t you continue to negotiate that knife out of his hand?” Jefferson said.

Jefferson also questioned what threat justified the gunfire, saying officers typically shoot to stop a threat.

“The question comes back again, what was the threat?”

First Coast News has reached out to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the State Attorney’s Office, and the Vicksburg Mississippi Sheriff’s Office seeking clarification on when deputies learned Davis had a homicide warrant out of Mississippi and what homicide case he was wanted in connection to. We also asked how recent the warrant was, whether Mississippi authorities had alerted Florida agencies that Davis could be in the area, and whether extradition efforts were already underway before Saturday’s encounter.

Questions remain about the circumstances that brought deputies to the home in the first place. CCSO previously said deputies were assisting the Department of Children and Families with an investigation, but it is unclear what prompted the DCF response or whether the home on Pebble Stone Court was where Davis had been living.

First Coast News also asked the sheriff’s office whether the encounter was considered a mental health crisis and why deadly force was used at the moment Davis was shot.

Those questions had not been answered as of Tuesday.