Butler city police have arrested and charged Butler resident Cory T. Eichert in connection with an incident in which he allegedly fired at another man’s car with a nonlethal self-defense weapon in retaliation for being flipped off on the road.

Eichert, 35, was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 17, and charged with aggravated assault and simple assault, the former of which is a felony.

According to the police affidavit, the incident occurred on Wednesday, Oct. 16, when Eichert’s Ford SUV allegedly came close to striking a pedestrian on West Jefferson Street. The pedestrian, who was later interviewed by police, testified that he flipped the driver off and yelled at him to watch where he was going.

He told police that Eichert then stopped in the middle of the road, got out of his SUV, and threatened to “kick his ass,” to which the pedestrian responded that he had a firearm on him. Eichert supposedly returned to his SUV, pulled out a weapon and fired in the pedestrian’s direction before driving off.

Police pulled up security camera footage which allowed them to identify Eichert as the driver of the Ford. According to the police report, officers arrived at Eichert’s house to talk to him about the incident, he told them that the weapon he fired was a self-defense weapon that fired rubber balls.

Officers reportedly searched the home and found the weapon in question, along with both rubber and metal balls.

Eichert is currently confined to Butler County Prison because he is unable to post bail. His preliminary hearing is set for Monday in front of District Judge William Fullerton.