Another major case in which Carl E. Douglas played a decisive role concerned Maurice Cox, an unarmed Black motorist who was shot to death by Los Angeles police officers on March 1, 2008. As reported by Alex Alonso — a journalist for streetgangs.com, who was at the scene and captured part of the incident on camera — Cox had been involved in a hit-and-run and had later crashed his vehicle into a tree on Crenshaw Boulevard. The vehicle was then surrounded by a police perimeter, though Cox was unwilling to leave his vehicle on the officers' command. Eventually, he made an effort to flee the scene and was shot by police, dying from his injuries soon after.
The LAPD released a statement claiming that Cox had pointed an object resembling a weapon at police officers after leaving his vehicle and attempted to characterize the incident as "suicide by cop." Cox's widow, Laura, contested the account, and with Douglas' help, she brought a $10 million case against the sheriff's office. Douglas explained (via the Los Angeles Times): "This wasn't a suicide by cop. He never went toward officers. He ran away when they fired." Douglas said Cox's death was the result of "contagious fire," with multiple officers firing upon the unarmed man, who was spooked by the sound of the first couple of shots fired by their colleagues.
According to the Douglas/Hicks Law website, the case was eventually settled in Mrs. Cox's favor, with the widow being awarded $8 million dollars as compensation for her husband's wrongful death.
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