The friends of a man who was killed in a deadly deputy-involved shooting in Oakland Park said they're still in shock a day after the incident.
The Broward Sheriff's Office said one of its deputies was forced to shoot 24-year-old Joseph Fuller. It all started with a traffic stop and ended in front of an apartment complex Tuesday.
BSO said 48-year-old Detective Clyde Davis is the one who killed Fuller after they struggled for Fuller's gun.
Fuller's friends are still in shock.
"He was going through some stuff but he wasn't a bad person," said one friend.
BSO said deputies tried to pull Fuller over twice on Tuesday; first when he was driving erratically on I-95 at 4:30 a.m. and then again hours later on Dixie Highway.
Fuller allegedly took off both times.
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"He got caught up again and police tried to pull him over, and he said he didn't want to go back to prison earlier," said Stephen Henry.
The situation came to an end in front of the Floranada Apartments when BSO's V.I.P.E.R. (Violence Intervention Proactive Enforcement Response) unit tracked him down.
Deputies said Fuller reached for a gun between his legs while behind the wheel of a Chevy SUV.
"The deputy reached with one hand between the suspect's legs having his other hand on his own firearm. He clearly saw the subject had a firearm and was trying to produce the firearm and the deputy fired," said Sheriff Scott Israel.
Fuller was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Fuller served three years in prison for drugs and weapons charges. Friends said he was released around Halloween last year.
The sheriff feels Detective Davis' life was in danger, and that his decision to use deadly force was justified.
Fuller grew up in the Oakland Park area. NBC 6 reached out to his family, but they didn't want to speak.
