08/20/2019
Let us pause to remember our Fallen Hero from the Prince George’s County Police Department, Police Officer First Class Adrian A. Morris, lost this day in 2012 while attempting to apprehend theft suspects in Charlie Sector.
Officer Morris was born on April 11, 1989, in Kingston Jamaica. He was raised in Jamaica until his high school years when he moved to the United States. Officer Morris lived briefly in Florida before moving to Maryland where he graduated from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in 2007. On January 19, 2010, Officer Morris joined the Prince George’s County Police Department as a member of Academy Session 117. He graduated on September 20, 2010, and was assigned to District I, Squad 22. Officer Morris served Squad 22 with honor and distinction for the duration of his field training program. Upon completion of that program, Officer Morris was transferred to the District VI where he was assigned to Squad 29. Approximately one year later, Officer Morris was transferred to what would be his final assignment, Squad 19.
On August 20, 2012, Officer Morris and his partner responded to a theft at a service station on Route 198 in Laurel, Maryland. While speaking with the complainant, the suspect vehicle revisited the scene and, upon observing the police presence, quickly fled south on Interstate 95 at a high rate of speed. Officer Morris and his partner followed the vehicle and were attempting to close the distance in an effort to obtain the vehicle’s registration plate information. Suddenly, a civilian vehicle applied its brakes due to a reckless lane change by the suspect vehicle near the Powder Mill Road exit in Beltsville, Maryland. Officer Morris swerved to avoid a collision with the civilian vehicle. In doing so, he lost control of the police vehicle which then collided with a guardrail, left the roadway, and came to rest in a ravine. Officer Morris was ejected from the vehicle and sustained massive trauma to his upper body. He was flown by members of the Maryland State Police Aviation Command to Prince George’s Hospital Center where he succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter.
Officer Morris served the Prince George’s County Police Department for 2 ½ and was the 27th member of this Agency to make the Ultimate Sacrifice. He was the 52nd law enforcement officer to give his life in service to this Profession within Prince George’s County, Maryland.
At the time of his death, Police Officer First Class Adrian A. Morris was 23 years old and survived by his mother and eight year old brother.
Let us learn from their stories, so that our safety today stands as a lasting tribute to those who have gone before us…..And let us keep their flame forever burning bright.