One Uber Driver Is Not Like The Other: Excessive Force Vs. Self-Defense

ROLLING MEADOWS, ILLINOIS — An Uber driver was charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm over the weekend after he fired at a passenger who threw a rock at his sunroof, breaking it.

The driver, 44-year-old Marvin L. White, who happens to be an Illinois concealed carry permit holder, was called to pick up a few party goers in the early morning hours on Saturday.

Then…

At some point, near the intersection of Owl Drive and Holly Lane, three of the passengers said they wanted to get out of the car. One of them, Alan Slawson, argued with the driver, according to police.

Police said Slawson threw a large rock at White’s vehicle that broke the moon roof, and in retaliation, White pointed a handgun in Slawson’s direction and fired. Slawson and two passengers began running, and White chased them, firing his gun once more, authorities said.

I’m sure that it’s an unwritten rule somewhere in the world of concealed carry, that you don’t draw your firearm when a drunk person throws a rock up in the air and it lands on your sunroof. Grave bodily injury or death? Nope.

Hit the gas and GTFO of harm’s way.

It’s important to mention that no one was hit with any of the shots, and no one was injured.

When carrying a firearm, it is extremely important to know when to draw, and when not to draw. The general rule, as stated earlier, is the need to be fearful of grave bodily harm or death. A large rock can certainly cause damage to a person but given this situation –with the assailant on the street and the driver in the car– you’re not exactly in danger when you can hightail it out of there.

Maybe you could argue that a car was in front of him and he wasn’t able to, but we’re still in a grey area for defending the need to draw a firearm in this particular situation.

I’m not even going to go over the horrible decision that White made when he not only drew his firearm at a drunk guy with a rock, but he fired at them as they ran away.

No. No. No.

Look at this story in contrast to one we reported on just a few months ago, where another Uber driver used his firearm for an actual self-defense situation which likely saved numerous lives. In that case, the Uber driver stopped a man who began randomly firing into a crowd of people.

That is justified self-defense. This other one… not so much.