Florida Man Ordered To Surrender His Firearms, Fatally Shoots The Deputy Who Tries To Take Them

Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Myers was shot and killed in front of a lawyer’s office on Tuesday while trying to confiscate firearms from a man who was given a domestic violence injunction.

According to the Associated Press, a tearful Sheriff Larry Ashley described the tragic shooting to reporters, saying that 33-year-old Joel Dixon Smith visited his lawyer’s office to accept the injunction and turn over his guns to the authorities. Assuming all the firearms were in Smith’s car, Deputy Bill Myers went to confiscate the weapons but was shot several times in the back of his head and in the back by Smith, who kept one of his guns concealed on his person. Witnesses say Smith fired eight shots before fleeing the scene in his vehicle.

“We heard ‘pop, pop, pop,'” said Annie Allen, the witness who called 911. “The guy got in his truck and just tore out of the parking lot. When I realized it was an officer that he shot, that’s when it really hit me how dangerous it was.”

Smith fled to his Comfort Suites hotel room 10 miles away. Police then reported that he barricaded himself in the room until officers flushed him out with tear gas. Joel Dixon Smith came running out of the room, shooting off his gun, but deputies shot him dead before anyone else was hurt.

“[Joel Dixon Smith] was a sick little coward,” said Sheriff Ashley.

According to WGNTV, the shooting took place at Shalimar law office. Smith had apparently agreed to surrender his firearms following the domestic violence charge, but seemingly had a plan to resist the court order by keeping one of his weapons hidden. Police can’t be sure if the murder of Deputy Bill Myers was premeditated or if Smith acted on impulse the moment the officer tried to take away his firearms.

Annie Allen later commented on the murder, noting that Smith’s decision to kill Deputy Myers was an especially dangerous one.

“When someone shoots a law officer, they have nothing to lose,” she said. “It is good more people weren’t hurt.”

Witnesses at the hotel reported that the standoff took hours. All of the guests were woken up to be escorted safely from the building, including an Arizona man named David Bump.

“I opened the door and they had their guns drawn,” he said. “When they brought the guy out, he was on a gurney with his face covered.”

[Image credit: Mat Hayward / Getty Images]