Not all Florida sheriffs are opposed to the state’s stand your ground law or the concept of citizens defending themselves through force of arms. In a press conference yesterday, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd gave a detailed explanation of what happened in a recent self-defense shooting by an Uber driver near Winter Haven, Florida.
An Uber driver, Robert Westlake, had picked up a fare at a bar in the early morning hours of August 28. A young woman, Jessica, had helped the inebriated woman get into the car.
Somehow Jessica’s estranged boyfriend thought she was the passenger in the Uber car. He threatened via text messages to beat up the driver. The ex-boyfriend, Jason Boek, drove up behind the Uber, then forced it to the side of the road. Boek got out of his truck, approached the driver, and threatened to shoot him while pulling his cell phone from his pocket and pointing it at the driver.
What Boek didn’t know was that the driver, Westlake, has a Florida concealed carry permit and had just finished a stint at the local police academy.
Westlake shot Boek once in the chest. He died at the scene as Westlake administered CPR. Westlake had a dashcam in the car that recorded the event (starts at the 9:10 mark above).
“This is justifiable homicide all day long,” Sheriff Judd said. “You have the right to protect yourself. This is a classic stand your ground case. A classic, and this was the intent of the law.”
“But you see how rapidly you have to make a decision of whether you live or whether you die. And I can tell you unequivocally the Uber driver, Robert, did exactly the right thing to protect himself and ostensibly his passenger as well.”
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
The Sheriff’s commentary between 7:00 and 8:30 are just priceless !
The sheriff did get one detail wrong. It wasn’t a stand your ground case. Standing your ground implies that you could have saved yourself by fleeing and chose to fight instead. If flight isn’t feasible, stand your ground is irrelevant. Even in a duty to retreat state, fleeing is required only if it is sufficient to ensure your complete safety. Less dangerous isn’t good enough.
The people of Polk County are lucky to have Grady Judd for a sheriff!
He could have fled by driving around him or reversing the car but he stood his ground.
Up until the last few seconds the uber driver was giving the truck driver the benefit of the doubt. Something was obviously very wrong but it was not clear till the face to face confrontation.
I remember trying to signal/stop an RV pulling a jeep where the jeep not only had its steering locked at an angle but the hitch was coming apart. What did I get for my trouble? The finger and the sick satisfaction of a front row seat to a crash.
Several months ago, where I live, the victim of a carjacking tried to drive away. He got a bullet in the neck for trying. I was surprised at how quickly events in the dash cam video went down.
“I was surprised at how quickly events in the dash cam video went down.”
Everyone should be aware, especially POTG who carry firearms, that bad guns with guns probably have more experience at gunfights than the ordinary gun owner. Probably have made the decision that are not worth a thought when it comes to killing you; the bad guys have already made the decision you are going to die. Normal people haven’t come to that mindset, and prefer to not harm others. Point? The bad guys are already inside our 1.5 sec response time.
No Daniel, this would be valid self defense in every US state including in states with no stand your ground in code or case law.
a) you do NOT have to “flee” (you mean retreat) unless you have reason to be certain yo are safe in doing so.
Stand your ground laws are >b>NOT required if you reasonably believe you are facing a ranged weapon armed perpetrator. And a gun is a ranged weapon. Someone announcing they have a gun has been held in the case law to be reasonable belief the perp is armed with the gun as he/she claims. You cannot be expected to attempt to flee a bullet.
The shooting in this case from what we know of it, would be valid legal self defense DC, NYC, Massachusetts etc which are not “stand your ground” jurisdictions.
b) While defending third parties is messier, your fear of grievous bodily harm or death DOES extend to third parties. Westlake clearly had a reason to believe his passenger was at risk, and she was less able to retreat.
I support stand your ground laws but this is NOT a stand your ground case.
“Standing your ground implies that you could have saved yourself by fleeing…”
After watching the video a dozen times, the “pull over” just might offer a prosecutor a wedge: the Uber car wasn’t disabled by damage from the aggressor colliding to force the Uber car off the road. The Uber car was stopped for about three (?) seconds, waiting for the aggressor to get out of his car. I was thinking, “Floor it!” when the aggressor stopped some feet away from the Uber car. Keep wondering if the delay by the Uber driver could be used to “prove” the Uber driver, a gun carrier, was waiting for the opportunity to “shoot someone”, when the Uber driver could have driven off. While not a “duty to retreat” state, a politically motivated persecutor just might have a sliver of time to exploit. “Lying in wait”?
There is some danger in trying to flee. Perhaps after trying to get around the truck the truck driver proceeds to chase you and ram / PIT you off the side of the road and into a ditch or tree. Probably the best course of action though would have been to stay in the car and back up. If the driver emerges from the car you run him over.
That all being said. Hindsight is 20/20 and you have about 5 seconds to make your move or stop or whatever. You are going from a boring night driving a drunk girl home to wondering what’s going on. Condition white to red/black in an instant.
Agree with your comments, but all that matters is what a prosecutor thinks can be proven in court. Stats are important, and if the DA thinks a case can be won, it will likely be pursued. (depending on the ethics of the DA office)
Except once he goes to drive around the truck many things could happen.
1. Truck driver opens fire on uber drivers car.
2. Truck driver returns to truck and gives chase to uber driver. Truck driver already pulled in front of uber and slammed on his brakes.
Both of those endanger not only uber driver and his passenger but anyone else in the general area.
I like uber drivers response. One well aimed shot to stop any threats. Safest best for all parties involved.
Fr: 100% agree
3of11: running somebody over with a car is a use of deadly force. It isn’t a lesser alternative to shooting someone, rather, legally its the same thing AS shooting someone. Like Fr said, using a gun is more controlled, deliberate, and less prone to uncertainty.
Gun? Vehicle? That’s not the discussion.
Is there opportunity for zealotry to prevail? That is the musing. The video is not 3D, so it is impossible to be certain, but there may have been a car length between the vehicles. Thinking like a DA is the key, here. Was the Uber car completely blocked? Was there time to flee (even though there is not duty to retreat)? Did the lack of disengagement evince an intention to ambush the aggressive driver? Does the DA think there is a likelihood he can prove that the Uber driver was not defending, but purposefully delaying so as to allow the situation to develop to where the Uber driver could claim “stand your ground”?
Florida is not reliable for self-defense shootings. The Sheriff’s statement may prevent a DA from pursuing a charge, or maybe it would be ruled inadmissible because the Sheriff is not a prosecutor, and his statements taint the jury pool.
And just maybe, if a criminal charge is blocked, the family can file civil suit. The ride is the punishment.
At any rate, seems a classic example of why a gun owner should have self-defense coverage.
This brought to mind a scene from “Sully.” (AKA “Miricle on the Hudson”). During the hearing they supposedly have two crews in simulators reenact the flight. Sully points out that the human factor has been removed. The pilots knew what was going to happen and immediately too the correct action. Turns out the crews had to practice 17 times before they were successful.
A prosecutor would have to argue that the driver knew exactly what was going on, knew the correct action and was prepared to make an immediate response.
“A prosecutor would have to argue that the driver knew exactly what was going on, knew the correct action and was prepared to make an immediate response.”
Possibly. But if the DA believed a win was very likely, proving the driver knew everything would not be much of a deterrent. And there is no immediate, personal loss for failing to get a conviction.
When shtf you don’t have time to run “what if” in your head, you follow your survival instinct if you have any and your training. Which is why it is always a good idea to prepare for the worst at all time, when you are randomly stopped in traffic, sitting at the restaurant, going to Church…His instinct told him “I must use my firearm” not “maybe I could back away and run him over if….”, either can work, it just depends on the situation and the individual. I am not saying you are wrong, but remember we are all siting in front of an electronic device thinking about the situation, he was in his vehicle on the road in a stressful and unexpected situation. I am glad for him he was in Polk Cty where there is a real Sheriff in town! In libtard Miami Dade, Broward, or Orlando, chances are it wouldn’t be the same song.
“This brought to mind a scene from “Sully.” (AKA “Miricle on the Hudson”)…”
As an FYI, the movie version of the NTSB ‘hearing’ is mostly fiction. But Hollywood wanted some drama.
The flight crew’s competence and performance was never questioned in the actual incident.
From takeoff through ‘landing’ was mostly a verbatim transcript from the cockpit voice recorder…
Hopefully, with that caliber of sheriff, the DA in that county/nearest big city isn’t trying to make a name for himself and won’t prosecute.
It is not a stand your ground case. It is slam dunk self defense. He was cut off by the truck. Westlake had every reason to believe the pickup truck driver would do it again. If Westlake had sped away there is no evidence the the pickup truck would not have done it again, westlake can be presumed to be be able to safety go 100 mp if the pickup driver went that speed to run him off the road or was shooting at him
If you look at the clean (ie cases where the people didn’t;t know each other, nor had something else going on such as both engaged in other crime at the time of the shooting) case law, duty to retreat in public is pretty much nullified with a firearm armed initiator of conflict. West;ake could not safely assume to be certain of safely retreat on foot or by trying to out run the truck in the first instance or after, since his passenger was at risk for grevous injury
Sam, given the stance of Sheriff Judd, I don’t think a prosecutor will make the effort. Which also shows us, if we have anti 2A PoPo we have public servants that are a threat to our freedoms.
I am always looking at/for ways government can suppress the public. If there is a sliver of a chance to get a conviction, too many prosecutors go for conviction rate over sense of justice.
This case involves 2 lives, the driver and the passenger which makes the responses a lot more complex. Had the Uber driver done anything other than what he did, at that moment, he would have jeopardized his life and the life of the passenger. Keep in mind the truck driver did not have to do what he did. His actions were a conscious response, be knee jerk etc, that cost him his life. The real lesson here is that in many situations there is not time to debate and discuss unless one wants to die while thinking!
And what would the Uber Driver had done, IF he did receive Police Training…
Don’t agree, or disagree. Not commenting on what should/should not have been done. Only looking for a grounds justifying charges against the Uber driver. Assuming the role of a determined prosecutor to punish a gun owner/user. We should always be mindful that no shoot is a good shoot if the authorities want you to take the ridie.
There was a double yellow line on the road; no passing, and it’s only a two lane road. Plus the pickup is right in front of him, so he can’t see around it in any case. Just pull out around the pickup to flee – possibly smack into a head-on collision? That ain’t much of an option, either.
If you think that you can stand up to a prosecutor intent on putting you behind bars based on that legal argument, more power to you. But you face trial, legal fees, and the potential of losing.
That’s the advantage of SYG laws. Instead of having the burden to show that you HAD to shoot, the prosecutor has to do the work to build a case and show you didn’t. Or, specifically, that you did not meet the criteria of the law.
“Or, specifically, that you did not meet the criteria of the law.”
This is where the DA could enter a motion to preclude/exclude the SYG defense, based on the perceivable time delay between when the Uber driver stopped, and when/where the aggressor stopped. Where the “lying in wait” charge might just slip in.
You guys have clearly not looked at the case law. Clean case self defense shootings, in non SYG jurisdictions test at a reasonable belief of being able to retreat safely.
This almost never extends to ranged weapons (ranged being a gun, instead of a knife). And Westlake also is legally able to use lethal force to protect the third party (passenger) so the prosecution would have to assert westlake was certain she could retreat as well. His passenger was impaired and threatened by the pickup truck driver
I’m not certain if your comment is correct. My observations, while hearing and listening to the Sheriff, appeared being spot on with his detailed report. On the other hand, there remains a legal and ethical obligation regarding the safety of the passenger and/or passengers in the vehicle. Speaking now as a retired Combat Marine and Military Police Officer, how would one, morally justify, this event, by fleeing the area and leaving his passenger and/or passengers alone in the vehicle alone?! Sorry, either case, I WhHowILL NOT LEAVE ANOTHER BEHIND! I honestly could not sleep well…Semper Fi
Wow if that wasn’t the long version of “play stupid games win stupid prizes” I don’t know what is.
Uh-huh. Lessee, pretend to point a weapon at a stranger while informing stranger you’re going to kill him, at night, while drunk, after running him off road. Hope his insurance does not pay off for suicide.
Grady Judd is the sheriff, who a few yrs. back, answered a reporters query as to why his deputies shot an escaping felon 68 times, with the following reply….’that was all the bullets they had’. I love our Florida sheriffs, at least the ones in central and north-central Fl. Those scum-suckers in Broward can KMA.
Force me to stop on a dark highway and approach me while hollering threats you’re gonna get a face-full of 9mm JHPs. The dumbass got what he deserved. Case closed.
Darwin award winner 2018.
Locally, we have a boyfriend who threatened to blow up his girlfriend’s apartment. Cops caught him with something that at least looks like a bomb. An estranged husband threatened to kill his wife if she locked him out of the house. When are guys going to realize that paying for it is cheaper?
If it becomes an ego / image / self-esteem thing in the guy’s (or gal’s) mind, it’s gonna end ugly. No matter how sensible it would be to just … let … it … go.
Some people can’t let go or can’t take reject or can’t see and woman and not try to sexually assault or murder them. It’s what makes them tick, they cannot think rationally.
There are a certain number of people, more men than woman, who commit crimes. There is no treatment, counseling or anything that will stop them. On the extreme are the serial killers like ted bundy, jeff dahmer, etc. and the lower end are petty criminals who rob cars, houses and stores. It’s who they are, they have a compulsion to do these acts. The only way to prevent it is to lock them up.
Look at former football players aaron hernandez and oj simpson. Both literally have the world in their hands. Extremely popular, making a ton of money, etc. But they’re bad people, despite having so many positives in their lives, their mind was that of a criminal.
There are so many amazing people in the world but, there is that small percentage who would do you harm in a second. You just never know when your path will cross theirs and when they can’t control the impulse to commit a crime.
He was sitting; how is this a classic stand your ground case? /s
Actually, it’s not.
George Zimmerman stood his ground while lying flat on his back.
Actually, Zimmerman’s attorneys never asserted “stand your ground” defense.
Quit repeating liberal lies. “Stand your ground” was not relevant in the Zimmerman case and was never mentioned during the trial.
Actually “stand your ground” does not exist in the Florida law or in any other state law on self defense. “Stand your ground” is a catch phrase invented by the media. Inherently all 50 states have very similar self-defense laws. The major differences are in whether or not the law imposes a “duty to retreat” (a phrase which may or may not appear in the law) and under what circumstances.
The states with so-called “Stand your ground” laws generally impose LESS of a duty to retreat under fewer circumstances.
Florida provides numerous examples of the media misusing the phrase “Stand your ground” because they manage to work that phrase into their coverage of every “defensive” shooting in Florida even when (as noted in some other comments here) the SYG aspects of Florida law did not apply in this case or in the Drejka case (although the Drejka case is also an excellent example of a state prosecutor making a purely political decision rather than a legal decision).
George Zimmerman stood his ground while lying flat on his back.
1) Zimmerman was being attacked with lethal force by Martin in the form of having his head bashed into concrete.
2) Zimmerman never asserted stand your ground, he did not have to. If Zimmerman had been convicted on those trumped up political charges, any and every appeals court would have thrown away the conviction
hmm. Middle of the night I’m not stopping. Either I’ll go around him or back up to put distance between us.
Leaving the vehicle limits options.
Not saying it was not a legal shoot. Just saying Uber driver limited his own options.
Manse Jolly,
In this particular case I believe the Uber driver actually had a better chance of survival engaging the truck driver as he did.
Why? First of all, driving past a vehicle that just ran you off the road and blocked your forward progress is NOT a good idea. If that driver is armed, he/she can light-up your vehicle as you drive right next to them and your odds of survival are very poor.
Second of all, it was not possible for the Uber driver to back up and put a safe distance between himself and the truck driver before the truck driver could have put a dozen rounds through the Uber driver’s windshield.*
Finally, backing up at high speed in the dark is dangerous in-and-of itself. Not only would the Uber driver be at serious risk of driving off the road and into a tree or rolling over into a ditch, the Uber driver could also hit another car coming behind him at a high rate of speed.
* I measured 3.5 seconds between the time that it was apparent that the truck driver was going to stop and when the truck driver was out of his truck and facing the Uber driver. Once the truck driver was facing the Uber driver, he could start firing if he had a handgun in-hand as he exited the truck and easily fire at least 10 rounds before the Uber driver could have any chance of being out of range.
Remember, it would take the Uber driver at least 1.5 seconds to realize that the truck driver was actually stopping as opposed to just “brake checking” him. Even if the Uber driver decided instantly then-and-there to back up as a precaution, it would likely take his car at least 1 second to go into reverse. Now that there is only 1 second remaining before the truck driver could begin putting rounds on target, how far backward do you think that Uber driver could back-up his car in 1 second? Answer: nowhere near far enough.
I would have been tempted to run over the asswipe. No guns involved, still in fear for my life. Still think he done good.
hmm. Middle of the night I’m not stopping. Either I’ll go around him or back up to put distance between us.
Leaving the vehicle limits options.
Not saying it was not a legal shoot. Just saying Uber driver limited his own options.
A pickup truce could easily run that car off the road killing the uber driver and his passenger. A person in a pickup truck can easily outspeed a car if the pickup truck direr is simply willing to take more risk. Just because your car maybe theoretically capable of 10 or 20 more MPH doesn’t mean you will be safely driving at 120 mph in that car at night on a winding road to escape the speeding truck, whereas the pickup truck was clearly willing to take such risk
If you have two drivers in two vehicles, and one is crazy, the sane one won’t be able to avoid being run off the road even after they pull away the first time.
You can’t do game theory without two rational actors.
Recent police academy graduate…as long as “average- joe-citizen” gets the same treatment after standing their ground.
^ This!
“…as long as “average- joe-citizen” gets the same treatment after standing their ground.”
Here in Polk county, you likely will.
Florida can be a shitty state, sometimes. This is an example of why Judd is as popular here as he is…
Caught that as well.
Robert, the former Uber driver.
Good thing Jason was not black, or we would have a totally different narrative.
100%.
“Good thing Jason was not black, or we would have a totally different narrative.”
No.
Not from Judd. He is equal-opportunity when it comes to taking out the trash…
“Goofball here…”
Fundamentally, it’s important to determine who is the knucklehead.
Those two little words made me an instant fan of this Sheriff.
“That was a terrible mistake…”
Well, from one person’s POV, anyway.
“Here’s a message for the hot-heads …: Don’t do that stuff.”
“Good people carry guns.”
My T shirt says “keep calm and carry guns”. Hot heads learn the hard way.
Some people say just drive away. Question. Can your car out run bullets???
Sometimes YOU can’t drive away on a drawn gun. Just as you can’t draw on a drawn gun.
Hey Sherrif, can you run for office against Sherrif Darnell? Alachua County could use a different Sherrif. I met her, she is a Battle AXE.
WHO would find fault with this shoot?!? Drunk and menacing late at night is not a prescription for long life😦
Antis unfamiliar with SYG would find fault with it. They would say that the driver didn’t have to stop, or at least that he should’ve taken off as the attacker neared his window threatening to shoot.
I might have attempted that, myself, although crossing a double stripe on a two-lane highway with my view of oncoming traffic blocked by the attacker’s truck argues against that move. Still, without SYG, some jury, judge, or prosecutor could find fault.
With the valuable evidence collected by Judd’s people (text messages), the average Jury in a normal Floridian County such as Polk County, will conclude Uber driver was right whatever the Attorney says. I know the season is about to start, but thanks God it’s not NY, NJ, IL or Boston yet! We still have some common sense. Vote DeSantis.
Who would find fault? Well, if the dead scumbag was black, the headlines all over Florida would read, “Uber driver murders unarmed man.”
Bingo…let’s all remember that the sheriff in the other SYG case in FL also refused to charges in that case. It was the state attorney for Pinellas County (a politician) who brought those charges. If this guy that got shot had been any minority you can bet your a$$ there would be protests and way more negative media coverage…and criminal charges.
A concealed carry permit is not required to carry a loaded firearm in your vehicle in Florida.
No, but you have to keep it in a manner making it hard to reach in a urgent stressful situation. Do yourself a favor and get a conceal carry permit! Also, Murphy’s law being what it is, you’ll get out of the car somewhere (without your gun because you abide the law and you don’t have a conceal carry permit) and guess what? Something will happen that will make you say “I wish I was carrying”, “Hold on thug let me run back to my vehicle”.
A concealed carry permit does add an addition level of credibility which translates into your being a more disciplined and responsible citizen.
Just quickly reviewing the Sheriff’s bio reveals some insight into why he’s reasonable.
He’s a lifelong resident of that county; earned his undergrad and graduate degrees locally. He started his career at the sheriff’s department in 1972 and worked his way up, ultimately being elected Sheriff four times.
This isn’t a job hopping, politically correct, butt-kisser. This is a good man. You probably can’t find someone more dedicated to serving the people of his community with professionalism and passion than this sheriff.
The entire video is well worth watching.
I tip my hat to Sheriff Grady Judd.
Sheriff Judd is a great LE leader and a great man. I can tell you his men and women would have stormed that school in Broward County like it was the D Day! God bless them all. For those of you not familiar with this corner of the Sunshine State (other than the amusement park in the area), they have their share of worthless individuals. Polk Cty is in between the Tampa Bay area and Orlando, there are a lot of drugs and shady people.
The moral of this story: A .40 handgun put that dipshit down in a single shot.
Uber makes a rule against its drivers carrying concealed in 3….2…..1….
Uber already has that rule and they’ve used it to fire several drivers, often after they used the gun to defend themselves. It’ll be interesting to see how Uber responds here.
It sounds to me like the Uber driver has a good chance to get hired by Polk Cty SO, if he is not already hired or far up in the process somewhere else. “…He just finished the Police Academy”, knowing many LEO Academy graduates in the State are what we call “self sponsored”. Good for him. Good DGU Sir!
Something else, I can tell you most LEO in FL are in favor of law abiding citizen arming themselves and carrying for SD. It might be a different tale in mentally ill Miami or Orlando, but in the FL I know and like the men and women of Law Enforcement know very well you want to see your kid(s) grow, just like them, and we have many parasites running in the State who will not hesitate to hurt you. By the way, many are convicted felons and cannot pass a background check, therefore they get guns illegally not at the gun store, so Gillum and all the libtards running for Office: Shove your gun control where the sun does not shine, we do not want to become like South Chicago minus the snow and cold!
1/He rightfully defended himself and probably Jasmine in the rear seat
2/It is not impossible the Uber driver saved someone’s life as this drunk idiot fits the type who t-bones a family on the road, kill them all, and survives with his stupid head all over the newspapers.
One shot.
Center mass.
D.O.A.
I guess there really is something to this whole “shot placement” thing.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-uber-driver-cites-stand-your-ground-in-deadly-shooting/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab8d&linkId=56230354
This morning CBS broadcast. At 2:30 Norah O’Donnell comments the Sheriff telling it like it is. I couldn’t believe it. She one of the biggest progs in TV news
From the text of the CBS news item:
This isn’t the first controversial “stand your ground” incident in Florida.
Um, what makes this ‘controversial’?
Do more than 1% of the population disagree with the sheriff’s findings?
If not, can’t get any less controversial than that.
Not that it matters, but I thought Uber Corporate said their drivers couldn’t be armed?
Ex Uber driver.
No big deal, as he was already in the process of becoming LE, and now the sheriff admires the heck out of him…
They did. But it’s not like they can enforce that until it becomes public knowledge that you were armed. Like in the aftermath of a DGU. Plus Uber doesn’t pay all that well, certainly not well enough to warrant the risk of going unarmed.
Actually NO Transportation Company does! Whether UPS, FedEx< Papa John's, Domino's, Pizza Hut, Yellow Cab, Metro, School Bus Driver, Trucking Company and/or Private Courier. We ALL take the Same Risks…
Sheriff’s comment : “that will get you shot…. a lot”!
Robert didnt know what’s wrong w Jason. Robert didnt have time to flee. J could have have shot through windshield and then chased down the car and done worse damgae. Rabid animals must be put down.
I’d like stand your ground to be a national law.
Here’s the difference between what I would have done and the idiot in the truck. When he jumped out, I would have backed up. If he chased me on foot, good, let him chase me on foot. I can back up all damn day er…night. I got mirrors. If he runs back to the truck, OK fine. I wouldn’t have engaged someone out on the road like that. Now if he forced my hand even more, well that may change my plan and I would probably light his stupid ass up.
sure, backup at high speed on a dark two-lane road. that’s waaay better.
Why don’t you people stop with the armchair ambulance-chasing?
Your opinions are as worthless as they are irrelevant, up to and including the moment you find yourself in similar circumstances.
You either take some action to protect yourself, or you don’t.
Because you have absolutely zero control over what your victimizer wants to do to you.
Interesting input. If not for opinions about the different postings, why would one be a subscribe to this blog? If you can learn nothing from opinions, there is nothing here for you.
Perhaps TTAG should just post articles, and block comments? Or block comments that are opinions (anything not scientifically proven, with references)?
My OPINION is that citizens should have the unfettered right to own TOW launchers, and the Uber driver free to have vaporized the aggressor vehicle, along with the occupant.
@ William Joseph James Roberts
Gotta say, YOUR opinion is worthless pal. Lot of folks do know what they would have done.
Had that guy passed me, I would NOT have gotten in front of him and I would have backed up and made space. As soon as he got back in his truck, I would have done everything I could to stay behind him.
I’m safe as long as I’m in my car and he’s in his. I could out maneuver his truck everyday of the week and twice in Sunday.
Don’t project your inadequacies on others. Some of us, especially older guys know what we do.
bullsh*t. your ability to “outmaneuver” another vehicle is always impacted by the environment. for example, ussein bolt can’t outrun me if we are both in phonebooth together.
Where was the Uber Driver at the time of the Shooting? Behind the Steering Wheel of his car. And the Victim? Standing Outside the car. What prevented the Uber Driver, from just Driving Off! IF the Uber Driver was capable of making a Split Second decision to reach for his gun, he could just as easily stommped his foot on the accelerator and driven off…
responding to ulnar, whose last reply did not have a reply link:
other commenters have already addressed your comment that the uber driver could have just driven off. yes, but he might also get shot driving off by the guy who just threatened to shoot him, and the pickup driver could get back in his truck and chase him again.
Why don’t you people stop with the armchair ambulance-chasing?
Your opinions are as worthless as they are irrelevant, up to and including the moment you find yourself in similar circumstances.
You either take some action to protect yourself, or you don’t.
Because you have absolutely zero control over what your victimizer wants to do to you.
I agree with the above. Go to a gun show and if NRA has a scenario booth try your luck and you will learn quickly how little time you have to make a decision and respond. It is FREE, look for it and see how you perform.
“How fast you decide to live or die” is why “duty to retreat” is so ridiculous.
With unlimited resources and infinite time, in an office with snacks, a motivated prosecutor gets to build an alternative then ding an assault victim for not figuring that out in seconds or less.
You have a “duty” to find that plausible, not sure, alternative under attack, surprise, and even fire, or if you stop the BG by force, you did murder.
So from the Time I leave the Security of my Home and come back to that Security at the End of the Day. The Time Interval between those times is allocated as “Justified Homicide”, interesting…
huh?
If you’re going by the Police Chief’s logic. The Guy that Shot and Killed to Thief Robbing HIS Business while the Owner was at Home. Would be totally within his rights to go the store and Kill the Thief (i.e. Justifiable Homicide”…
that doesn’t make sense even your OWN drug-addled mind.
everything you just said is wrong.
if Boek hadn’t been lawfully ventilated by the inncent stranger he threatened, his behavior indicates that it was just a matter of time before he killed his girlfriend.
One less a**hole hillbilly redneck. Good riddance!!! I love that sheriff!!!! I wish more in LE were like him.
Uber Driver got suspended…
Absolutely the dumbest way to get yourself killed. Almost as dumb as russian roulette with your feet or base jumping without a chute.
The moral is think you loudmouth yankee idiot leave people alone they carry guns and will shoot you.
“Goof ball here”, should be ‘Dead Goof Ball’. justified shoot.
Will driver get booted from Uber from having a lawfully owned gun in his car?
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