A Florida man with a lengthy criminal history was shot by an Uber driver in what the local sheriff called a “classic Stand Your Ground case” – a law which Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gallum opposes, and has called for Governor Rick Scott to suspend.
It all began at a Winter Haven bar Tuesday morning around 2:20 a.m., when an intoxicated woman was helped into an Uber by another patron she didn’t know.
Observing this from his Ford F-250 pickup truck was 34-year-old Jason Boek, now dead, who police believe mixed up his ex-girlfriend and the woman who got into the Uber, a Hyundai Elantra driven by 38-year-old Robert Westlake.
Westlake, a licensed security guard and concealed weapon permit holder who just graduated from the police academy, was armed.
In a dashcam video posted by the Polk Sheriff, Boek can be seen chasing down Westlake, try to run him off the road, and then threaten to shoot him after angrily charging towards Westlake.
Westlake grabbed his gun and fired a single shot, killing Boek.
Boek got out and walked towards the Hyundai, yelling at Westlake and claiming that he had a “pistol” (as heard in the attached dash cam video from the Uber). Boek continued to approach, at which time Westlake, who is a concealed weapon permit holder and a licensed armed security guard, reached into the pocket of the driver door and retrieved a handgun, firing one shot at the truck driver. –Polk Sheriff
Following the shooting, Westlake called 9-1-1 and began lifesaving measures. Officials say he continues to cooperate with law enforcement. Neither Westlake or his Uber passenger know Boek – who has a lengthy criminal history which includes “previous arrests for aggravated battery, battery, burglary, marijuana possession, forgery, larceny, resisting arrest, and VOP (violation of probation). He’s on felony probation for battery, which began in June 2016 and was scheduled to end in June 2021. His driver’s license was suspended in May 2018, and the truck he was driving does not belong to him – he borrowed it from a friend.”
Deputies found a marijuana joint in the truck Boek was driving as well as a glass pipe with meth residue.
Stand your ground
“This is a justifiable homicide all day long,” Sheriff Grady Judd stated at a news conference. “You have the right to protect yourself. This is a classic stand your ground case. This was the intent of the law.”
“At the end of the day, the message is clear,” he told reporters. “Don’t mess with the Uber driver.”
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