lmfao the language “discharged a replica firearm” certainly sounds scarier than squirted a waterpistol at the ground.
Given rideshare driver (is this relevant?) this smacks of driving while black type discrimination.
Obviously the toy looks a bit real, but it seems to me all this needed was “hey we had a complaint, that looked real, why not hand it over and go home for a bit?” Although even so Queensland allows very realistic toy guns and AFAIK it’s not some lawless hellscape of fake holdups.
BTW bonus fact. A spud gun, like fires a fragment of potato via a spring, is almost certainly an illegal firearm in nsw. Heaps cool.
A) you don’t know it was sold with one B) Being arrested is a massive escalation that is humiliating and dangerous C) absolutely nobody was hurt or threatened