Man fatally shot by OPD identified

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jan 3, 2008

OAKLAND -- A man shot to death Monday night by two police officers who said they thought he was reaching for a gun after he ran from a car was identified Wednesday as 20-year-old Andrew Moppin.

It turned out Moppin did not have a gun and investigators are still not sure why he ran from the vehicle.

Police confirmed Moppin had a $411 warrant out for his arrest for evading a BART fare. He also was on probation for possession of marijuana for sale, according to court records.

Police said Moppin, who listed residences in Oakland and San Leandro, was driving a car with other passengers and was stopped by officers about 7:33 p.m. Monday in the 4600 block of International Boulevard for a traffic violation.

Moppin ran from the car to the 1200 block of 47th Avenue where he tried to hide between a

car parked on the sidewalk and a rolled-up metal door of a business, police said.

Two officers not involved in the car stop found him and ordered him several times to surrender and keep his hands in sight, police said.

Sgt. Lou Cruz said Moppin refused to surrender and was yelling and swearing at the officers. At one point, he told the officers he didnt care about being shot, Cruz said.

The officers told investigators they both shot at Moppin when he made a quick move toward his rear waistband like he was reaching for a gun.

Moppin was wounded more than once and died about a half-hour later at a local hospital.

The passengers in the car later told police they had been partying earlier. An open bottle of liquor was found in the car.

It was the fifth fatal shooting by police in Oakland during 2007. Before Monday, the most recent was Dec. 21, when a 26-year-old man was fatally shot by two officers who said they thought he was reaching for a gun in his car at the intersection of Ritchie Street and Bancroft Avenue. A gun was recovered in that incident.

Police would not identify the officers -- who are on administrative leave, which is routine in officer-involved shootings -- in Monday nights shooting, but did say they were not involved in any of the previous fatal shootings.

The shooting is being investigated by the police departments homicide and internal affairs unit and by the Alameda County District Attorneys office.