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An Uber driver shot and killed a motorist who confronted him in a case that police say was legally justified under Florida's stand your ground law.

Dashcam video shows Jason Boek, 34, swerving his truck in front of driver Robert Westlake, then jumping out and claiming to have a pistol.

Mr Westlake, 38, who had just completed training to be a police officer, fires once, fatally striking Mr Boek.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Mr Boek was a "goofball".

"Here's a message for the hotheads of the community: don't do that stuff," the sheriff said.

"Good people carry guns and they will shoot you. A lot. Graveyard dead."

Video from Mr Westlake's Hyundai Elantra dashcam shows Mr Boek's pick-up truck cutting in front of him, forcing him to stop in a dark road.

The confrontation unfolded at around 02:20 local time (06:20GMT) on Tuesday in the city of Winter Haven, 50 miles (80km) east of Tampa.

"I say something?" Mr Westlake asks.

"You know I got a pistol? You want me to [expletive] shoot you?" Mr Boek responds. He was holding an object which turned out to be a mobile phone, said police.

Seconds later, a gunshot is heard.


Sheriff Judd called the encounter a "classic stand your ground case".

The stand your ground law does not require citizens to retreat when attacked, placing the onus on prosecutors to prove that a fatal shooting was not in self-defence.

Critics say the law stokes violence and adds to America's high rate of gun deaths.

"This is a justifiable homicide all day long. You have the right protect yourself," Sheriff Judd said on Wednesday.

"This was the intent of the law," he added.

According to investigators, the incident started with a case of mistaken identity.
Media captionA Florida man who cited 'stand your ground' in a fatal shooting over a disabled parking spot in July was later charged with the death

Mr Boek had been "stalking" his girlfriend outside a bar, the sheriff said.

When she went outside the pub to help a drunk friend get into an Uber to leave, Mr Boek mistakenly thought she was in the car, said the sheriff.

The boyfriend set off in pursuit, sending "explosive" text messages to her along the way, added the sheriff.

After the shooting Mr Westlake called 911 and attempted to perform CPR.

Sheriff Judd said that Mr Westlake had recently finished training with the police academy, and was legally licensed to carry a gun.

"The Uber driver did the right thing to protect himself and his passenger," Sheriff Judd said.



Loved the comments from the sheriff.

Another example of stupid hurting real bad.

Wonder if Mr. Westlake will be Polk County Sheriff's Deputy Westlake in the future.

We need Sheriff Judd in Chicago!!!!!!
Need to run our sheriff "FART' right out of town, maybe to San Fransisco.

Fellas, you gotta watch the video!

That Sheriff is GREAT!

Graveyard dead. The deadest kind of dead.

Link to original video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=368oWXiL79s

love Judd, "they will shoot you - ALLOT" this need to be a T shirt or bumper sticker. combine that with Dave and you have a winner.

Boek: "You know I got a pistol?"
Boek: "You want me to f****** shoot you?"
Boek: (Holding something out at arms length while advancing)

If that's not the audible BEEP to draw and shoot, I don't know what is.

He will not be threatening to shoot somebody with a cell phone any longer.
Cool sheriff.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Another example of stupid hurting real bad.

Yeah but, just for a minute

Well there is something good that came of this. Mr. Boek has learned his lesson and will never jump out of his car and threaten to kill anyone again.

#graveyarddead
#theywillshootyoualot

Of course his family is upset. The apple clearly didn't fall too far from the tree there.

Fuck them and fuck him. I feel for the officer who had to shoot him but I am glad he's in the ground.

Very briefly, the newsman mentions Boek had an extensive criminal record.

Graveyard dead. I like that.

quote:

Originally posted by Pale Horse:
I feel for the officer who had to shoot him but I am glad he's in the ground.

Is he actually a sworn officer yet? The article only mentions that he completed the training.

ETA: Nevermind. The video was more clear on that.

That's Grady, and we Floridians love him.

Another classic.

Another Great Grady story from 2006...

LAKELAND, Fla. – Officers fired 110 rounds of ammunition at the man suspected of killing a sheriff's deputy, killing the suspect, according to an autopsy released by the sheriff's office.

Angilo Freeland — who was suspected of fatally shooting the deputy after being pulled over for speeding Thursday — was hit 68 times by the SWAT team members' shots, the examination released Saturday showed.

He also was suspected of wounding a deputy and killing a police dog.

Freeland's death ended a nearly 24-hour manhunt that forced schools to lock down and families to stay indoors as about 500 officers scoured the woods.

The wounded deputy had pulled Freeland over for speeding and became suspicious of his identification. The suspect got nervous and bolted into the woods, officials said.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said he was not concerned by the number of shots fired.

"You have to understand, he had already shot and killed a deputy, he had already shot and killed a K-9 and he shot and injured another deputy," Judd said by phone Saturday. "Quite frankly, we weren't taking any chances."

Ten SWAT officers surrounded Freeland on Friday as he hid beneath brush and a fallen tree in a rural area. Authorities say he raised the gun belonging to the deputy he had killed, prompting nine officers to fire.

"I suspect the only reason 110 rounds was all that was fired was that's all the ammunition they had," Judd said. "We were not going to take any chance of him shooting back."

The SWAT officers who shot Freeland have been placed on paid administrative leave, standard procedure in all police shootings.

Also released Saturday were autopsy results for the deputy, Vernon Matthew Williams, 39, which showed he had been shot eight times. He was not wearing a protective vest, but shots hit him in his right leg and behind his right ear, among other places.

Diogi, his German shepherd police dog, was also killed. The dog had been shot once in the chest.

Authorities said deputy sheriff Doug Speirs, also 39, was fired at several times and shot once in the leg. A sergeant and an officer from the Lakeland Police Department were also fired at, authorities said.

Link.

“Grady Judd”

Met the man when I did the HVAC controls for the new Polk County LE compound.
Hit one button and it shut down all outside air and went on “attack mode”

Nice guy. I remember when the PCSO shot down a no good scoundrel that I believe killed a deputy and his dog. Grady was asked why they shot him 68 times. His reply... “cause we ran out of bullets”!

He is a camera hound though!

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Wonder if Mr. Westlake will be Polk County Sheriff's Deputy Westlake in the future.

Interesting. I own an acre of land in Polk Co. that I've never seen (reported to be partially swamp).

flashguy

yeah that's been in the local news down here

the shot guy - he was a real piece of work - lots of prior offenses for dirtball behavior

couldn't have happened to a nicer guy

seems like the CHL-holder did everything correctly

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