Amazon Delivery Driver Caught On Camera Punching Elderly Customer: Authorities
Talk about bad service! An Amazon delivery driver was caught on camera punching an elderly customer in Castro Valley, Calif., according to authorities.
As KTVU Fox 2 reported, the 67-year-old female customer and the Amazon employee, identified as Iztel Ramirez, got into a dispute over a delayed package. The violent incident was captured from several angles by a surveillance camera and clearly shows Ramirez striking the customer's head area.
The 21-year-old employee, who said she hit the woman in self-defense, was arrested Thursday, June 4, on suspicion of battery causing serious bodily injury and elder abuse. Her bail has been set at $100,000.
The owner of the customer's apartment building, Doug Smith, said the fight began when the woman received a notification that a package had arrived, but when when she went to the lobby to retrieve it, the package wasn't there, the local outlet reported.
According to Smith's account, the woman asked Ramirez of its whereabouts and was told she would receive it soon. After waiting for 15 more minutes, the woman was said to have questioned Ramirez again, and that's when the violence began.
"I believe the Amazon driver said something about 'your white privilege,' and my tenant said, 'You don't need to be a b**ch about it,' turned around and walked away,'" Smith recalled.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Department said the woman might have suffered a broken nose and other visible injuries.
"We can't have our delivery drivers or people out there in the community attacking people, punching people in the face," said Sheriff Ray Kelly.
Following the incident, an Amazon representative released a statement condemning the actions of its employee: "This does not reflect the high standards we have for drivers who deliver our packages. We take these matters seriously and this individual is no longer delivering Amazon packages."
