A Florida Uber driver has been cleared of any wrongdoing after he shot and killed a man in what Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd called "a classic 'stand your ground' case." Robert Westlake told police that Jason Boek left a bar in his pickup truck and started chasing after him. Boek reportedly believed his girlfriend had gotten into the Uber, but she was just helping another woman into the cab.
At one point during the chase, Boek cut in front of Westlake forcing him off the road. Boek then got out of his truck and started walking toward Westlake, telling the Uber driver he had a pistol. He put his hands near his hips and yelled: "You want me to f---ing shoot you?"
Before Boek could do anything else, Westlake fired one shot from his own gun striking the approaching man in the chest. Westlake called 911 and immediately rushed to Boek's aid.
"He came towards me, shouting he's got a pistol reached toward his waistband," Westlake told the dispatcher on the 911 call. "I fired one shot from my pistol. He dropped his cell phone I kicked it away, I didn't realize it was a cell phone at first."
Westlake had a license to carry the gun and had just completed the police academy. He also worked in private security.
"At the end of the day the message is clear, don't mess with the Uber driver. Leave the Uber driver alone because he just might be a certified police officer in waiting," Judd said.
Another "stand your ground" case recently made headlines after many people believed that the law did not apply when a man shot an unarmed man after he was shoved to the ground during an argument over parking in a handicap space. Local police initially ruled the shooting was done in self-defense, but prosecutors decided to press charges against the shooter.