He crashed his car in a hail of gunfire and did not survive, but the investigation into Hugh Barrington Smith's activities was going on long before a fatal confrontation with police on Friday.
Smith, 37, was already a target of the Broward Sheriff's Office and the Fort Lauderdale and Miramar city police departments, the BSO said Saturday while confirming Smith's "lengthy, violent" criminal history.
A large stash of narcotics were found in his wrecked Honda, along with $46,000.
It is not yet known if Smith died as a result of police gunfire or from crashing into a tree off Davie Boulevard, but a BSO deputy has been placed on leave as is standard procedure in any police-involved shooting.
The incident began Friday when detectives involved in the investigation of Smith pulled him over outside the Georgia Pig barbecue restaurant in Davie.
Smith became "confrontational," and according to the police report was subjected to "non-lethal" means of submission (a stun gun was submitted with evidence).
But Smith resisted, and began ramming the deputies' cars with his own Honda. As officers began to fire, Smith sped off his in car, only to smash into a tree a few blocks away. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
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A spokesperson said officers from several agencies fired weapons, and it isn't known who may have actually hit Smith.
"The number of detectives who discharged their weapons is currently part of the investigation," said the BSO's Mike Jachles in a statement.
