Originally published at: Jury acquits delivery driver who shot YouTube "prankster" harassing him in mall | Boing Boing
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Food delivery drivers are statistically more likely to get killed on the job than police officers, so it makes some kind of sense that a jury would acquit a delivery driver in this circumstance given that a cop probably would have got away with it under the “…our jobs are dangerous and I felt threatened!” defense.
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There really isn’t a good guy here, but my sympathies are fully on the delivery guy’s side.
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I think sometimes people on the internet forget that a situation can involve two assholes. This is one of those.
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It’s hard fo be in favor of people going round with guns and shooting one another, and “he started it” isn’t technically a valid defence, but by the wounds of christ did he ever start it.
It’s very hard to criminalize “being obnoxious beyond belief”, so this would be an obvious case where Youtube could use its despotic power for good. I’m thinking, like, retroactive demonetisation.
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Plus, getting shot for being an arse, then continuing to make a living being a professional arse, for 3 grand a month? Wow.
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2–3 grand a month isn’t really that much as far as earning a living goes. That delivery driver is probably making more than the YouTube ass is.
What a dumb way to live one’s life.
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To be fair it is pretty good pay for the amount of “work” the idiot does.
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Almost as disturbing, the fact there are enough people entertained by this schtick to generate 3 grand/month in revenue for him.
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going around harassing people isn’t a prank and we shouldn’t be calling it that,
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Thus the scare quotes around the words “prank” and “prankster” in the post.
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Assault doesn’t have to involve touching. It’s a separate crime (and tort) from battery. I don’t see why this “prankster” (can I just say “asshole”) isn’t already in jail given the evidence is, like, right there.
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First time I had a gun pulled on me was when I was a delivery driver for Pizza Hut.
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I can’t speed to the state where he lives, but where I live his actions are felony assault:
Kansas Statute § 21-5412
(a) Assault is knowingly placing another person in reasonable apprehension of immediate bodily harm.
(b) Aggravated assault is assault, as defined in subsection (a), committed:
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(2) while disguised in any manner designed to conceal identity; or …
The delivery driver is arguable, but the woman who he told was being stalked and needed his protection to be safe would definitely qualify.
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Taking photos/videos in a public place (which a shopping mall might not be) is one thing, but unless they get a model release from the involuntary participants in their videos, that should be a fast track to demonetization, which would be a best way to curb these assholes.
Naturally the platforms will be slow to crack down on that, because they’re profiting from it themselves.
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The shooter should have to face some level of accountability for this but as far as Cook’s behavior goes it’s hard to think of a more apt use for this warning:
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I suspect that being an atrocious asshole is more of a passion project that just happens to pay some of the bills, rather than specifically chosen as a lucrative career, in this guy’s case.
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Judging from the courthouse video, Cook doesn’t really seem to understand how damn lucky he is to be living. And his mom came off as the sense of reason right up until she gave him that “boys will be boys” pat on the shoulder. 
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This is really true.
It’s tiring all the YouTubers who are chasing likes by doing these “pranks”. One tried this recently in Japan and found out that the Japanese authorities aren’t amused.
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I imagine that it’s relatively difficult for a parent to accept that they’ve inflicted a child of negative value on the world; even when the evidence is pretty solid.
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