JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A veteran wounded by police during a standoff on the Wonderwood Bridge on Nov. 6 had been arrested previously on charges he tried to hit law enforcement officers with a pickup truck.
As a result of the police-involved shooting, his hearing in front of a Veterans Treatment Court scheduled for Wednesday was rejected.
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Smith, 32, had been wounded by a Jacksonville police officer after a series of hit-and-runs that ended with a crash on the Wonderwood Bridge in the Mayport area, authorities said.
Court records show Steven Smith was arrested on Sept. 19 on two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and one count of domestic battery. According to that arrest report, Smith's wife called police to say he was throwing furniture and beating her. She told officers she was in fear of her life so he grabbed a gun and fired a shot into the ceiling, which caused him to leave. He returned home while the officers were there, and they wrote that he drove his pickup truck through the yard at them.
The wife told police she was afraid Smith was going to kill himself, and the report noted that he yelled, "Just shoot me," before he was subdued.
On Oct. 17, he was referred to a pretrial intervention program for military veterans. He was out on bail Friday but was due to be back in court Wednesday.
News4Jax spoke with one of Smith's neighbors, who said he believes Smith suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Due to the police-involved shooting, the Veterans Treatment Court decided to reject Smith’s hearing. He is now scheduled for a Dec. 6 arraignment on the assault charges.
There have been no charges filled from the police-involved shooting.