A Florida cop who claimed she was shot at in a drive-by shooting while walking her dog, forcing her to return fire on the suspects, resigned last week after an internal affairs investigation determined she was drunk and lied about what happened.
Daytona Beach police officer Michelle Smith’s lies became evident to investigators when her victims provided them with three Snapchat videos that depict her as the aggressor.
In her resignation letter, Smith wrote that she was humiliated and treated unfairly during the investigation, according to [__WFTV.__](http://www.wftv.com/news/local/daytona-beach-police-officer-officer-accused-of-lying-about-shooting-resigns/469247766)
Smith told investigators a group of suspects occupying two vehicles began challenging her to fight, so she called over her pit bull. She claimed at that point both cars sped off and shot at her as they fled and that she only fired back to protect herself.
Smith claimed she spotted the two cars near her apartment complex and determined a drug deal was taking place on September 8 around 3 a.m. after she returned home from a night out partying with friends.
That’s when she said the cars began following her and the people inside began egging her on to fight.
Investigators discovered not only was officer Smith’s story a lie, but that she was the one who instigated the confrontation, then fired shots at six people in two cars while intoxicated and without any provocation from the victims she confronted in the car.
*Daytona Beach Cops Investigate A Drive-By Shooting Against One Of Their Own Who Claimed She Was Targeted. But Their Investigation Determined She Was Actually The Perp.*
The witnesses told police investigators they were at the apartment looking for a lost set of keys when Smith approached while walking her dog. When a male passenger asked Smith if she was security, she did not reply.
Officer Smith tied her dog to a tree, then approached and began asking questions indicating she wanted to fight.
One Snapchat video taken of the confrontation shows Smith challenging the group to a physical altercation, saying she wants to “wrap them up,” which means to fight.
Smith can be heard asking a group if they lived at her apartment complex. When a man says they don’t have to answer, Smith replies, “You don’t, but watch when I wrap you all up….”
A woman in the car interpreted that to mean officer Smith wanted to fight. Another passenger who witnessed the confrontation told investigators that officer Smith pointed her gun at two of the men.
Smith described the two as a gray Ford Taurus and a red “long four-door”, similar to the older model Grand Marquis that police drove.
Officer Smith stated shots were fired at her from the red car and gave investigators a fake license plate number. But it turned out the “red car” was a two-door Chevy Camaro, similar to the one she admitted her fiancé drives that she also admitted she could distinguish between a Grand Marquis.
“They look nothing alike,” Smith told investigators.
Department violations against Smith include unauthorized use of deadly force, unlawful conduct and department morale.
She was reportedly unavailable for comment.
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3232412/Daytona-Beach-Police-IA-Smith-File.pdf
