Coral Springs man arrested after foot chase reaches high school grounds

A Coral Springs police stop at Coral Springs Drive and West Atlantic Boulevard ended with Orlando David Smith, 23, on J.P. Taravella High School grounds after officers say he ignored commands, kept walking and jumped multiple fences. The June 21 encounter turned a pedestrian violation into a school-perimeter arrest at the Broward County Public Schools campus on Riverside Drive.

Police say the contact began when an officer saw Smith walking against a crosswalk signal near the busy intersection. When he did not stop and continued away from officers, the encounter escalated into a foot chase that carried him toward the high school property line. Smith was later arrested on trespassing charges after entering the campus grounds.

The school sits at 10600 Riverside Drive in Coral Springs and serves grades 9 through 12. BCPS lists the campus hours as 7:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m., and the district says its Division of Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness is responsible for protecting students, staff and visitors. The division includes Broward County Schools Police, the Department of Safety and Security, School Security Support Services, the Behavior Threat Assessment unit and the Office of the Chief Fire Official.

Florida’s school-discipline rules define trespassing as entering or remaining on school grounds without authorization or invitation and without lawful purpose. The state also treats those incidents as reportable when they involve a prior trespass warning or an arrest for trespass, which is why even a short pursuit onto school property can become part of a formal school-safety response.

Taravella has faced similar incidents before. In 2024, Coral Springs police reported an 18-year-old trespassing case at the school that triggered a lockdown. In 2022, a man was arrested after repeatedly posing as a wrestling coach to gain access to the campus. Those episodes, along with the latest arrest, show how quickly a routine police contact can spill onto school property and force officers to treat a campus perimeter as part of the public-safety scene.