Milwaukee Lyft Driver Charged For Pointing Gun At Passengers

I've never attended a training class for ride-sharing drivers, but I've got to believe that "Don't pull a gun on people" is one of things discussed before you hit the road.

Maybe 47-year-old former Lyft driver Paul Lawrence missed that part of Lyft training. However, after being arrested and charged with one count of pointing a firearm at another person--he knows that now.

According to a criminal complaint, two men requested a ride from Lyft in Elm Grove, Wisconsin on Friday night. The two passengers, Brandon Ndon and Benjamin Reynolds, watched as their Lyft driver pulled up to the curb on the wrong side of the street.

When they waved at him to make a U-turn so he could pick them up on the correct side of the street, the trouble started. After picking them up, he told them he didn't appreciate being told how to drive. He then drove the men about 60 feet before stopping and ordering them to get out of his car.

Fox 6 Now:

The men did, as the driver inched forward.

"As I was attempting to go around him, he turned his wheel and floored his car, attempting to hit me," said Ndon. "As I'm walking off, I'm like, 'Sir, did you really just try to hit me? You're a Lyft driver. Did you just try to hit me?'"

After yelling at the Lyft driver, the passengers observed Lawrence pull out a gun, cock it, and say, "I'll shoot you right now. I'll blow you away."

Investigators located Lawrence at home in Milwaukee. Lawrence told officials during the incident, he saw one of the passengers approach the driver's side window and make a fist like he was going to punch him. Lawrence told investigators he "did not feel safe" and drove away. He later told officials he had a valid CCW license and owns multiple firearms, but denied pointing it at the passengers the night of the incident.

Lawrence said he didn't even have a firearm on him that night because "Lyft does not authorize its drivers to carry firearms while driving."

Lawrence was taken into custody and booked into the Waukesha County Jail. He's no longer a driver for Lyft.