An Uber Eats driver is now looking for a new gig thanks to the company's driver disarmament policy, but police in Port St. Lucie, Florida say the driver was acting in lawful self-defense when he drew his gun and shot a man who had threatened him with a knife after a dispute over a parking space.
The incident unfolded outside a Pollo Tropical restaurant in Port St. Lucie on Saturday afternoon. Port St. Lucie Police Chief Leo Niemczyk says a 37-year-old Christopher Harris started jawing with the Uber Eats driver outside of the restaurant and waited for the driver to exit the building with the order he was picking up.
When the delivery driver emerged, Harris allegedly shoved him and then pulled out a knife. That's when the delivery driver drew his gun and fired a single round, striking Harris in the chest.
"Christopher Harris. He was the aggressor. He pursued the other individual. He followed him back outside. He shoved him. He pulled out a weapon," Niemczyk told WPBF.
He said that justifies the man who pulled the trigger defending himself.
"It's self-defense. It also fits the stand-your-ground rule because he is being pursued. He has no duty to retreat. In fact, he did try to retreat. He did try to avoid the situation, but he was pursued. So 100%, he turned around and used appropriate action. He met deadly force, being a knife, with deadly force by firing one round. It appears to be 100% justifiable," Niemczyk said.
After he was shot, Harris stumbled inside of the restaurant, where several customers tried to stop the bleeding. Harris was airlifted to a nearby hospital, and doctors determined his injuries were not life threatening.
Once Harris is released from the hospital, he's expected to be booked in to the St. Lucie County jail on charges of attempted aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and felony battery. According to Niemczyk, Harris has at least one prior conviction for battery, and it's unclear whether there are other arrests or convictions in his past.
The Uber Eats driver isn't facing any charges, and with Niemczyk calling his actions "100 percent justifiable" so soon after the shooting took place the physical evidence must have overwhelmingly supported the driver's version of events.
Even though the driver acted to defend his life, he violated Uber policy by carrying a gun on the clock. Though Uber's policy states that "anyone who violates this policy may lose access to Uber," it seems to be applied in a "shall" fashion. I've interviewed multiple Uber and Lyft drivers who've defended themselves from violent attackers, and even though they broke no law they were still barred from working for the companies going forward.
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