Darnell Smith is angry following an encounter with an armed concealed carrier last Saturday. He spoke with ABC 12 about the incident. (Photo: ABC 12)
A recent confrontation between an Uber driver and a concealed carrier in Milwaukee raises questions about just how far armed citizens should go defending their neighborhood.
After dropping off a passenger around 2 a.m. last Saturday, Uber driver Darnell Smith stopped on Mill Road to clean out his car. Trash was left in the vehicle by some of his riders.
While tiding up two men walked over to Smith and demanded to know what he was doing. One of the men was armed. Smith immediately began recording the incident.
“I have no obligation to tell you s**t. Nothing,” said Smith on the video. “You didn’t even tell me who you were when you pulled up. For all I know, you were trying to rob me.”
Both parties phoned the Milwaukee police.
Todd Sincock was one of the men who questioned Smith that night. It was his brother, the licensed concealed carry permit holder, who flashed the pistol. Sincock spoke with ABC 12 about the encounter, saying that they thought Smith was a drug dealer.
“We don’t want the drug activity. We don’t want it on our block,” said Sincock. He explained that the street has become a hotbed for drug activity.
Smith believes he was unfairly profiled and that the two brothers jumped the gun in confronting him.
“Just because you have a conceal and carry license doesn’t mean pull your gun out if you think something is happening,” Smith explained.
Later adding, “They didn’t know me. I did nothing wrong. They couldn’t tell me what alarmed them. Was it my sweater? Was it my glasses? Was it the color of my skin? What was it?”
No one was arrested following the encounter. You can watch the video on ABC 12.
I’m not a lawyer but it seems to me that while it’s understandable to not want dope pushers on one’s block, engaging them is a job for law enforcement — not concealed carriers. Smith was not dealing drugs nor did he present a threat to the brothers. Yet, by making that assumption they opened themselves up to all sorts of risk, from being arrested for assaulting an innocent man to being killed if Smith had actually turned out to be an armed gang banger. It’s a lose-lose proposition. If your life’s not in immediate danger, call the police, be a good witness (take down license plate information, take photos on your smartphone, etc.), observe and report. Don’t needlessly put yourself in harm’s way.
As for Smith, he was smart to record the encounter. Of course, he may want to try to use a more mild tone when responding to help de-escalate the situation. Yelling has a tendency to raise tensions. But then again, I don’t blame him for being angry. Also, it might be wise to clean out the car at a well-lit gas station as opposed to a darkened street, in front of a random house.
What are your thoughts on this situation?
Y’all don’t know what was going on before the camera and if you stop in front of my house at 2am. Yeah man we going to talk about it… So quick to jump ship are we?
I wish you would confront me for being parked on a public street.
He should have his permit revoked. Having a concealed carry permit doesn’t make you a police officer. Their statements should be enough to charge them with vigilantism.
As a concealed carrier, this pisses me off that idiots like this are also concealed carriers. These guys do harm to all of us by painting us as blood thirsty vigilantes when in reality these guys are probably gigantic pussies who have an axe to grind.
If they reasonably suspected drug dealing, it’s not their place to go enforce the law. That’s what cops are for. These two morons were probably just racially profiling this man and in a time when the leftist gun grabbers call everything racist, this just adds fuel to the fire.
They should have their CC permits revoked. This is expressly NOT why we get issued CC permits. Two idiots harassing a man doing his job. Morons.
yeah but you don’t stop at 2 am and start cleaning your car and the way thing are now yeah the guy shouldn’t have flash his gun .
We don’t have enough problems with the left trying to take away our 2A rights? You 2 idiots have to pull this kind of stupidity?! If you have a growing drug problem in your neighborhood set cameras on your property. Get your neighbors to do the same then get with your local police, and funnel the information to them. Owning a gun doesn’t make you the local superhero. Dumbass!
Couldn’t agree more!
So….. he should immediately lose his CC rights. Flashing is, was and always will be a no-no for CC people. Also, regarding the comment about picking a better spot to clean out your car….. am I wrong or is this still America? He was not in a driveway and the street is PUBLIC property. What irks me is the attempt to redistribute blame. If you want to stop and reset you Garmin, light a cig, check your trailor load, get out n stretch no one has the right to pull a gun on you. I thought the article was an honest and fair portrayal of the incident until that remark!
Spot on!
Absolutely. These to idiots should have their cc revoked and be charged with felony assault. This could have gone horribly wrong for the uber driver. Idiots like these two endanger our 2A rights by giving the antigunners fodder.
They were both at fault. Why the hell will you want to clean your car in a stranger’s neighborhood as opposed to a well lit gas station. You must be an idiot. Also, who the hell resorts to their weapon the minute they see a stranger in their neighborhood. Intelligence will tell you. A conceal carry is to even the odds when getting jump. If you can’t fight. You should not be having a weapon. Take fighting classes or go to a rough neighborhood and pick a fight. That’s the only way to learn how to fight. Both are idiots.
a moron.with a gun is still just a moron. guns are for self defense. carrying one does not make a you a junior g-man. if the driver was carrying a gun himself he would have been justified in using it.
jaymo, Agreed.