A 62-year-old Town of Lisbon man is accused of aiming a gun at a driver who was upset with the suspect’s kids who flipped him the middle finger after the man got cut off.
Gregory E. Cira was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Monday with one count of negligent handling of a weapon. If convicted, he faces up to nine months in prison and $10,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint:
On Saturday, a man was driving westbound in the W27800 block of Hickory Road when a car in front of him pulled to get mail out of a mailbox, then cut him off as he approached as it turned into a driveway. The man honked his horn and then saw two juvenile males near the entrance of the driveway flip him off.
The man then stopped, and backed up and rolled down his passenger side window to confront the kids about flipping him the middle finger. At that time, Cira walked up to the car, looked in the passenger side window, then pulled a handgun out, pushed it into the man’s right shoulder.
The man sped off and contacted the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department.
Cira told deputies he got his mail in his car and then saw a man in a car honking and yelling at his son and his son’s friend who were walking down Hickory. He said he went to talk with the driver, whom he saw reaching around in the car, so he decided to pull his gun.
He said he told the driver “get the (expletive) out of here,” 10 times before the driver finally sped off. He said he didn’t contact police about the incident because he was just happy the man was gone.
Cira is currently free on a $1,000 signature bond while awaiting trial.
Why isn't the driver charged with disorderly conduct? He certainly went out of his way to provoke a disturbance. (The kids arguably could be charged with that too, but it's a thin case.) He should have driven on by, once he was sure the other car wasn't going to hit him. Honking to avoid a collision - reasonable. Backing up to yell & honk at kids - shows a small mind. Drive on. Confronting the guy in the car who's honking & yelling at your kid - reasonable. Being prepared to defend yourself when that person starts reaching for something in the car - reasonable. (Cops do it.) Probably an overreaction if he did more than point it at the ground, ready to use. (But again, police do it.)
The man was in his own car. That's legal even without a carry license. Then he was on foot. That's also legal even without a carry license, as long as it's carried openly or if the guy was on his own property, even concealed. (And there's not "the course" to get a license. There are lots of ways to qualify. And I've heard complaints about out-of-state instructors telling students false information, info that could land them in jail. One more reason to buy local.)