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9 Investigates: Is a driver's arrest by a Volusia County deputy excessive or authorized force?

A driver pulled over for a seat belt violation ended up in a violent confrontation with a Volusia County deputy. An internal review determined the deputy followed procedure.
Investigative reporter Daralene Jones learned the driver was left with a bloody face, and his attorney believes the deputy used excessive force. He filed a motion on Tuesday to have the charges dropped.
“Uncalled for man. I wasn't running from nobody. Wasn't going to, wasn't going to fight with nobody,” said the driver, Edward Smith.
Smith's face showed injuries, just minutes after he was yanked from his SUV in Daytona Beach at New York and Spring Garden avenues.
“He didn't ask me to step out of the car. He snatched me out the car and slammed me on the ground, Smith said."
His confrontation with Volusia County deputy Royce James started at 8:45 a.m., on his way to work.
Following is the exchange heard from the deputy's bodycam video:
Deputy: “The reason I'm stopping you is, um.”
Smith: “I ain't got a seat belt.”
Deputy: “Yeah, you don't have.”
Smith: “Seat belt. It's locked up.”
Deputy: “Oh, it doesn't work?”
Smith: “Uh-uh. It's locked up.”
The deputy, for some reason, asks Smith repeatedly if he has anything illegal, including drugs. Smith pulls a Lortab pill from his ashtray, an opioid for which he didn't have a prescription, and tells the deputy he needs it because bad teeth cause him pain. Smith places the pill on the dashboard, as instructed.
You can watch the video to see what happens next, as the deputy reads Smith his rights.
Deputy: “If at any time you wish to stop talking or have an attorney present, all questioning will be stopped at your request.” “Put it ...” (confrontation) “don't you (expletive) move, spit it out, spit it out!”
We showed the video to WFTV legal analyst and former Chief Judge Belvin Perry who believes the deputy had a right to do what he could to preserve the evidence and calls this a classic case of a driver who did everything wrong.
“One, admitting that he had a narcotic. two, producing that narcotic and three trying to destroy that particular evidence,” said Perry.
Veteran civil rights attorney Howard Marks has battled with police agencies over excessive force.
“First of all, it shouldn't have gotten that far. He should've given him the ticket for the seat belt offense and moved on,” Marks said.
Marks reviewed the arrest report and the video, and doesn't doubt this was a driver nervous about being pulled over, and simply didn't know he could've refused to answer any questions unrelated to the seat belt violation. Marks also raised concerns about details in the report where the deputy says he observed the driver reaching before the stop as if to conceal something beneath the driver’s seat and center console.
“Was he pulling this person over simply for a seat belt offense or was he just targeting this car and just trying to come up with some crimes? And that's the problem with making seat belt a primary offense because it's used as a pretext to violate individual's civil rights,” said Marks.