should have shot him
In the crazy world of opposite land (Red America) if he had shot him the stand your ground law would have meant no foul no charge.
A Florida Uber driver stands accused of threatening a passenger with a semi-automatic handgun after his fare suggested he might blow chow, according to cops. Patrick McDonald, 67, picked up Shane Fabry and chums from downtown Bradenton shortly after 8pm last Friday. En route to Fabry's home, the 27-year-old advised McDonald to …
"In the crazy world of opposite land (Red America) if he had shot him the stand your ground law would have meant no foul no charge."
Not quite how it works here. As Mister Slyman said in 'Things Are Tough All Over': "This is America. You cannot kill every person just because you get mad at them. You have to have permission first. That is democracy"
"$75000 taxi?
what sort of street cab costs that much?"
Some of the ordinary dial-a-cab firms round these parts (not an affluent part of the UK either) have Audi A6's, BMW 7 Series, Jaguars and Mercs, so an Uber taxi, which from my experience generally seem to be a little more upmarket than ordinary dial-a-cabs, costing $75k is not really surprising.
Working on the periphery of the F1 in Mexico last year I was amazed by some of the Uber taxis; Generally all were upmarket SUVs and every one was immaculate, some hybrids, electric everything and some even had TV's in the back of the front seat head-rests. Drivers always got out to put our bags in the boot, offered bottles of water and even sweets.
While the comments on the gun amusingly miss the point the potential victim claims to have reached for his gun in fear for his life. Whodathunkit when picking up people you dont know that the fare may be one of the many people in the world you would not want to be spending much time with due to feelings of personal safety and of course having a pistol available isnt as dumb an idea (as maybe not having one).
Obviously when both parties claim to be the victim it comes down to an impartial investigation. More concerning is the number of comments that seem to be discussing shooting someone. The situation apparently ending with nobody shot nor actual injury. Depending on who was the victim this could very easily be due to the presence of a gun in the victims possession.
If I was going to take on that job, and Uber is now advertising on the radio for drivers, I would invest in a camera system for my $75,000 car so when I got myself in this situation others could reasonably judge whether or not I was in fear of my life.
That being said, I don't think your contract with Uber allows you to be armed. Cab drivers in the USA are the profession that experiences the highest murder rate, twice that of Police Officers. You are taking quite a risk taking that job when your job is to shepard groups of drunk people around. So, this guy doesn't have any video evidence, he is contradicted by the "victim" and his friends, and he has pissed off his employer.
Smart people who value their skin don't drive for Uber. The system is rigged against you.
Having driven cab at one time in my life, (actual licensed cab, not "we're not a cab company, but we'll get you a ride"). Picking up collections of male youth greater than 2 on a drinking binge is *NOT* something that ever makes any driver feel safe, ever. And the yark urge is always present in one or more of these individuals. I *always* had a collection of plastic bags in the car on weekends. And the cash in hand before I rolled.
I did six months of mini cabbing evenings and weekends as well as a daytime job back in the '80s to pay a debt. We wouldn't normally allow a drunk in the car, although if they were willing to put a £45 deposit in our hand we would consider it.
Cleaning a back seat after a technicolour yawn is bad enough, getting rid of the aroma for the benefit of yourself and future passengers is not easy, it tends to linger no matter what you clean with or spray on it.
I can kind of sympathise with wanting to shoot someone if they actually have puked in your car.
I have also stopped halfway and manhandled a couple of queasy passengers out of the car and given them a card for a rival firm.
That six months was more than enough, I would not want to do it again.
In Arizona we recently had a road rage incident with two drivers shouting at each other and one of them bent over to reach for something. The other driver fearing he was reaching for a gun, got his own gun from the glove box and shot and killed the guy (who had no weapon). The prosecuting attorney reminded the jury that you do not have the right to shoot someone because they are shouting at you. The jury disagreed and acquitted the shooter of all charges.
The shooter was Hispanic and victim east european white. The shooter didn't talk about any racial remarks being exchanged. He just said he was very frightened by the man screaming at him.
The trial took place in Pima County which is one the few DEM counties in AZ. Pima County is about 40% Hispanic. There was no jury nullification thing going on.