Delivery drivers are at more risk than many people realize. Approaching hundreds of strangers’ houses delivering anything from pizzas to potentially valuable packages can draw the attention of criminals and crazies.
That’s apparently what happened to one Amazon delivery driver in Middletown, Ohio. A man reportedly ran him while carrying a knife.
According to fox19.com . . .
The driver was out on his route when the suspect, Christopher Roberts, walked up to him with a knife, according to Middletown police.
The video here tells a slightly different story. In a 911 call recording, the unidentified driver says the man charged him shouting “Knife fight! Knife fight!” That’s when the driver pulled a gun from his pocket and fired a shot.
“Obviously, he [Amazon driver] was in fear,” explained Middletown Police Chief David Birk. “So, in defense of himself, he was able to discharge a firearm striking the individual in the leg area.”
Here’s a surprise . . .
The police report shows Roberts was suspected of being under the influence of drugs when he confronted the Amazon driver.
After police arrested Roberts with a gunshot wound to the leg and transported him to a local hospital, he managed to wander away. Police soon located him again and re-arrested him.
“Him walking away from the hospital kind of helped clarify the situation that the Amazon delivery driver was just defending himself,” Chief Birk said.
Well yeah.
Roberts has been charged with felonious assault. The Amazon driver, according to Chief Birk, acted in self defense and hasn’t been charged. Keeping his job after carrying a firearm on the job and discharging it in order to protect himself, however, may be more of a problem.
