Two Tampa Police officers, Jeffrey Kocab and David Curtis, both 31, were shot in the head at 50th Street and 23rd Avenue early this morning after pulling over a car at a traffic stop,  and have both died.

The St. Pete Times reports:

Curtis pulled the car over at 2:15 a.m. because it did not have a visible tag, police said, and soon discovered that one of the occupants was wanted on an arrest warrant for a worthless check out of Jacksonville.

Kocab was called for backup before the shooting occurred, which police said is standard procedure when someone is found to be wanted.

And more from the Times' story:

Police were looking for a 1994 red Toyota Camry they said was involved in the shooting. The car was stopped at 50th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The car pulled over at 50th Street and E 23rd Avenue.

Police said the car was driven by a woman and the male passenger fired the gunshots.

The passenger was described as a black man in his mid to late 20s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 150 to 170 pounds. He had a short afro and was last seen wearing brown shorts and a white T-shirt and a black vest. No description of the woman was released.

Detectives issued an urgent plea for witnesses to step forward. They want to talk to anyone who was in the area of N 50th Street and E 23rd Avenue about 2:15 a.m.

Anyone with information is asked to call (813) 231-6130.

This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2010.