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Florida Stand Your Ground Shooting: Uber Driver Claims Self-Defense

Florida Stand Your Ground Shooting: Uber Driver Claims Self-Defense

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd on June 11, 2014. (Bill Cotterell/Reuters)

Thursday, 30 August 2018 12:18 PM EDT

A Florida "stand your ground" shooting involved an Uber driver, who claimed self-defense after he fatally shot a man during an altercation in central Florida early Tuesday morning.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office released the Uber's dashcam video, and the driver won't face charges, CBS News reported.

Jason Boek, 34, of Winter Haven, Florida, died in the altercation.

According to a press release from the sheriff's office, an enraged Boek who believed his girlfriend was inside aggressively trailed a car driven by 38-year-old Uber driver Robert Westlake.

Westlake told authorities that Boek was trying to force him off the road. Once both vehicles were stopped, Boek threatened to shoot the driver. Unknown to Boek, the Uber driver had recently graduated from the police academy.

Westlake fired one shot that hit Boek. He then called authorities and tried unsuccessfully to revive Boek.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd called the incident a classic "stand your ground" case and "justifiable homicide," according to CBS News.

"Here's a message for the hotheads of the community: Don't do that stuff. Good people carry guns, and they will shoot you a lot. Graveyard dead," Judd said, according to the network.

Another "stand your ground" shooting drew widespread attention earlier this month when the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office arrested Michael Drejka, 47, and charged him with manslaughter for allegedly fatally shooting another man during an argument over a parking spot. Police initially declined to arrest him in the July 19 incident on the grounds of self-defense.

© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


TheWire
A Florida stand your ground shooting involved an Uber driver, who claimed self-defense after he fatally shot a man during an altercation in central Florida early Tuesday morning.
florida, stand your ground, shooting, uber
251
2018-18-30
Thursday, 30 August 2018 12:18 PM
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