Florida Criminal Attorney Blog

The Broward Sheriff's Office released the name of the man that was shot by deputies yesterday afternoon in Davie, Florida. His name is Hugh Barrington Smith, age 37, and he supposedly has a lengthy criminal history that includes violent crime. According to BSO, Smith was under investigation by a police task force that included investigators from BSO, Fort Lauderdale Police Department, and the Miramar Police Department.

BSO is also claiming that aside from the stash of drugs found in Smith's car, $46,000 in cash was also found.

While the nature of this task force investigation has not yet been made public and many details are still unknown, it is clear that this case was likely a narcotics investigation.

In a preliminary police report released to the news media, BSO claims that Smith was confrontational with police after being pulled over in the Georgia Pig BBQ restaurant. BSO claims that police first used "non-lethal means" to bring him under control. In fact, a used Taser is one of the items that was collected as evidence.

BSO also claims that Hugh Smith's violence escalated and he "started ramming patrol cars" with his own vehicle.

Continue reading "UPDATE: Hugh Barrington Smith is Man Shot by BSO in Davie, Florida " »

According to news reports, a deputy from the Broward Sheriff's Office shot a suspect yesterday afternoon in the parking lot of the Georgia Pig BBQ Restaurant located in Davie, Florida. The shooting allegedly occurred around 3:30 p.m.

According to BSO's spokesman, Jim Leljedal, a traffic stop was made of the suspect's vehicle "related to an investigation," although the details of that investigation have still not been made public. Since BSO claims a large amount of narcotics were ultimately found in the suspect's car, this was most likely a narcotics investigation. It is not yet known when the narcotics were found... whether before or after the shooting.

While I suspect that the deputies in question were in plain clothes and driving unmarked vehicles, these details are still not publicly known or verified.

According to Leljedal, there was a confrontation and shots were fired, although it is presently unknown who shot first.

Another BSO spokesman, Mike Jachles, stated "Things got very violent very fast. The suspect resisted arrest. There was a Taser deployed." It is alleged that the suspect ultimately rammed several police vehicles as he or she tried to escape the parking lot.

My guess is that this was an undercover buy/bust operation that went bad.

After fleeing the scene, the suspect allegedly traveled west on Davie Road, ultimately crashing his/her vehicle into a tree. It is unknown whether or not the suspect died from the shooting, the crash, or a combination of the two.

The cause of the crash is also unknown. Did the suspect lose control of the vehicle because he/she was driving recklessly? Or, did the injuries the suspect sustained from the shooting cause him/her to lose control?

While all the facts are still not known and it is unclear whether this shooting is justified or not, this case is already beginning to sound like a textbook explanation of a police shooting.

Continue reading "BSO Deputy Shoots Suspect in Davie, Florida Parking Lot" »