OAKLAND PARK, Fla. – Joseph Fuller had a troubled history. He was last released from prison on Halloween. Police killed him four months after his 24th birthday.
After dropping out of middle school during his early teens, alcohol and marijuana seem to have solidified a place in his life. When he was 18, he was caught with more than 20 grams of marijuana and a firearm. And when he was 21, he was arrested for driving under the influence, possession of drug paraphernalia and selling marijuana.
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He had recently quit a night-job and was living with a relative in Broward County. And if he would have stayed out of trouble, he could have been off probation in September.
A deputy spotted him speeding about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 95 southbound. There was a traffic stop on Commercial Boulevard. He sped away.
BSO was on the look out for the Chevrolet HRR station wagon he was driving, when another deputy tried to stop him about 11:30 a.m. on Dixie Highway near Floranada Road.
Fuller did not stop.
About 2:30 p.m., detectives followed him to the Floranada Apartments, 1300 NE 50th Court, in Oakland Park. Broward Sheriff's Office deputy Clyde Davis was in an unmarked pickup truck.
Davis, 48, identified himself and asked Fuller to turn himself in, police said. The deputy said he shot at Fuller multiple times when he saw him trying to reach for a weapon. Fuller never actually shot at the officer.
He had a large-caliber revolver, police said.
"In my estimation, it looks like a justified shooting," Broward Sheriff Scott Israel said during a press conference Wednesday.
SLIDE SHOW: View photos related to the July 21st incident
Oakland Park Fire Rescue took Fuller to Broward Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about 3 p.m.
The police-involved shooting remains under investigation. There may be more to the story. A man alleging he was a witness called police about two hours after Fuller died. BSO released the 911 call Friday.
"It's about the shooting that just happened ... it's a long story," he said. "I just rather, I know you are the dispatcher and what not, but I rather just talk to somebody that I can let them know what happened."
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