{"id":808532,"date":"2026-05-19T23:19:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/808532\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T23:19:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T23:19:19","slug":"civil-rights-attorney-ben-crump-officials-hold-press-conference-on-man-fatally-shot-by-ccso-deputies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/808532\/","title":{"rendered":"Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, officials hold press conference on man fatally shot by CCSO deputies"},"content":{"rendered":"

CLAY COUNTY, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 The family of Morris Davis, the man shot and killed by a Clay County deputy last week, is demanding justice \u2014 and they\u2019ve brought in a high-profile civil rights attorney to help fight for it.<\/p>\n

Ben Crump stood alongside the Clay County NAACP and Davis\u2019 family at a press conference Monday, calling the shooting unjustifiable and vowing to pursue every legal option available.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect to explore every possible legal avenue to get full justice for Morris Davis, for his mother, for the children, and for those grandbabies,\u201d Crump said. \u201cFull justice!\u201d<\/p>\n

The family said that when the shots were fired, Morris Davis, 48, was already on the ground and unable to pose a threat to the deputies.<\/p>\n

\u201cMorris Davis was a human being, loved by many, and his family deserves the truth about why he died in such a brutal manner. When a man is on the ground, unable to stand, unable to advance, posing no imminent threat, and deputies still choose to use deadly force, we must ask serious questions about whether that force was justified,\u201d Crump said in a statement. \u201cVideo shows there was distance, time, and options. We will pursue accountability and justice for Morris and his family, and we will push for the systemic change needed to ensure that preventable losses like this stop happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Clay County Sheriff\u2019s Office said it is aware of the video circulating on social media regarding the shooting.<\/p>\n

During the Saturday afternoon investigation, where deputies were called to a home on Pebble Stone Court to assist DCF, Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook said they learned Davis had an outstanding warrant for homicide out of Mississippi. <\/p>\n

Cook said the deputies were trying to confirm Davis\u2019 warrant, who was eventually shot when he armed himself with two knives and became confrontational.<\/p>\n

CCSO said the man then went out the back of the residence, into a neighbor\u2019s yard, where he resisted deputies who were trying to take him into custody.<\/p>\n

Officials said deputies tried to tase Davis in an attempt to disarm him, but it was ineffective.<\/p>\n

Davis was then shot by Deputy Sheriff D. Brown. Deputies called for rescue, but Davis died at the scene after unsuccessful life-saving measures.<\/p>\n

Brown has been placed on administrative leave.<\/p>\n

Davis\u2019 sister, Katina Hicks, pushed back on those claims about the outstanding warrant from the Clay County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked to the sheriff of the police department. We called the bail bondsman. Nobody \u2014 nobody \u2014 had a warrant for his arrest,\u201d Hicks said. \u201cThey couldn\u2019t find no warrant. But Clay County put out that he was wanted for murder. But where\u2019s the warrant? There\u2019s no warrant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hicks described her brother as a man of deep faith who served as a deacon at his church.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe served with his whole heart. He showed kindness, patience, and love in a way that touched people in ways he may have never, ever realized,\u201d she said. \u201cMorris had a smile \u2014 the kind of smile that could lift your spirit on the worst days.\u201d<\/p>\n

News4JAX spoke with Trevor Francis last week. He circulated a video online that reportedly captured the shooting. The video appears to have been taken down from that page. The footage appeared to show the man who was killed, visibly large in stature, lying on the ground at the moment he was shot.<\/p>\n

Screenshot of video purportedly showing video of deputies confronting man before he was shot. (Facebook)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe can\u2019t walk. He has to walk with a cane. You see how heavy-set he is. If you watch the whole video, when he broke through the fence, he fell through the fence,\u201d Francis said.<\/p>\n

In the video, which we did not air or post online, it appears that the man was holding a knife, but part of his body is obscured from view.<\/p>\n

Crump said what was visible in the video did not justify the use of deadly force.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing we know, based on what we see on the video, it was unjustifiable,\u201d Crump said.<\/p>\n

CCSO said in a statement on Tuesday that it is aware of the video circulating on social media. FDLE and the State Attorney\u2019s Office are conducting an independent investigation into the shooting and its circumstances.<\/p>\n

The sheriff\u2019s office said it will conduct a formal review of the use of force incident after the investigations by FDLE and SAO.<\/p>\n

Davis\u2019s brother, who did not want to be identified, and the Oakleaf neighborhood are calling for answers and accountability, while the NAACP is now demanding a thorough probe into whether lethal force was necessary during the confrontation.<\/p>\n

The man\u2019s brother said he was not a threat due to his disability.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe couldn\u2019t move around very well,\u201d his brother, who wished not to be identified, told News4JAX. \u201cHe couldn\u2019t move around. My brother was disabled. Full disability. I think they were intimidated by his size and weight. He couldn\u2019t get up and lunge at them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Clay County\/Green Cove Springs branch of the NAACP issued a statement on the shooting, calling for accountability.<\/p>\n

\n

The Clay County\/Green Cove Springs Branch NAACP is expressing outrage and deep concern regarding the recent tragic incident involving the fatal shooting of an unarmed African American male, reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis.<\/p>\n

A video depicting the harrowing event has surfaced, prompting urgent discussion about the actions of the Clay County Sheriff\u2019s Department. In light of these disturbing revelations, we demand a thorough investigation and immediate answers from Sheriff Cook regarding the rationale behind the officers\u2019 use of lethal force in a situation that, from our assessment, did not present an immediate threat to their safety or the safety of others.<\/p>\n

Our community is grappling with the agonizing loss of a life that could have been saved. This incident highlights the critical need for law enforcement to be trained in handling mental health crises with compassion and care, rather than resorting to lethal measures that exacerbate the already fragile state of our community.<\/p>\n

We believe in accountability, transparency, and justice. Sheriff Cook\u2019s statements during her recent news conference failed to adequately address the serious questions surrounding this tragic event.<\/p>\n

Clay County NAACP<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The NAACP also called for the following actions to take place:<\/p>\n

1. Immediate Transparency:<\/b> We demand that Sheriff Cook provide a detailed explanation of the sequence of events leading to the shooting, along with the policies guiding such decisions.<\/p>\n

2. Comprehensive Investigation<\/b>: An independent investigation into the actions of the officers involved must be conducted to ensure impartiality and fairness.<\/p>\n

3. Mental Health Training<\/b>: It is imperative that the Clay County Sheriff\u2019s Department implement rigorous training programs focusing on mental health crisis intervention to prevent future tragedies.<\/p>\n

4. Community Engagement<\/b>: We urge the department to actively engage with the community to build trust and understanding, especially in the context of sensitive situations involving vulnerable individuals<\/p>\n

Davis\u2019 mother, Aura Davis, was unsparing in her grief and her anger over her son\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t kill him \u2014 they murdered him,” she said.<\/p>\n

Crump framed the shooting within a broader conversation about how mental health crises involving Black Americans are handled by law enforcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlack people have a mental health crisis. And it is treated as a death sentence,\u201d Crump said. \u201cMorris Davis did not deserve the death sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family and Crump are calling for accountability, transparency, and justice. Crump said the legal team will explore all available avenues in the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got to fight for human rights,\u201d Crump said. \u201cOur human rights \u2014 just to be able to have due process of the law, where the Clay County Sheriff\u2019s Deputies aren\u2019t the judge, the jury, and the executioner right on the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLAY COUNTY, Fla. \u2013 The family of Morris Davis, the man shot and killed by a Clay County…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":808533,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,15015,54698,3188,723,7310,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-808532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-america","tag-clay-county","tag-clay-county-sheriffs-office","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-jacksonville","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116603805209980519","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/808533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}