PBSO captain hits motorcycle, charged with DUI
Incident happened Saturday night in Royal Palm Beach.
A Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office captain was arrested after investigators say he was drunk when he hit a motorcyclist this week in Royal Palm Beach.
David Smith II was driving in a Ford Mustang on eastbound Southern Boulevard near Crestwood Boulevard, just east of Palms West Hospital and the Loxahatchee Groves border, on Saturday around 9 p.m. when an offduty sheriff’s deputy saw him speed up and jerk his vehicle across several lanes.
Eventually, Smith hit a motorcyclist, sending that rider flying into the air, according to the report.
The motorcyclist complained of a leg injury and was taken to the hospital, deputies said. The extent of his or her injuries is unknown.
Smith appeared unsteady on his feet, had a slurred speech and seemed confused by the off-duty deputy asking him to contact 911, according to the report.
Smith submitted to a Breathalyzer test, and the two standard tests came back more than twice the legal limit to drive in Florida, which is 0.08. The first test came back at 0.196, the second at 0.202.
Smith told investigators he had six beers while watching baseball at the Duffy’s on Southern Boulevard in Royal Palm Beach.
He said the last time he ate anything was 1 p.m. Additionally, Smith said he took a Xanax.
Smith was not in uniform when deputies spoke with him at the scene, according to the report.
He was booked into the jail at 1 a.m. and released hours later, according to records.
According to the Sheriff ’s Office website, Smith is the security commander of the West Detention Center in Belle Glade. He has been a deputy with the department since 1998, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records.
The Sheriff ’s Office said he is on paid leave at this time.
This is the second Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s deputy arrested in the past week. On June 29, Adam Godbey was arrested on 30 counts of possession of child porn. A judge ordered he be held on $300,000 bail at the jail.