Amazon Drivers Endure Carjacking in Chicago, Harassment in Houston
An Amazon delivery driver was carjacked in a company truck at gunpoint in Chicago’s Irvin Park neighborhood Wednesday.
At 3:11 p.m. local time, a 21-year-old man was in a delivery truck parked in a parking lot near North Elston Ave. before an unidentified individual came up, took out a gun and demanded the victim’s vehicle, the Chicago Police Department confirmed to Sourcing Journal.
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The truck was later recovered in an alley just roughly six blocks southwest of the incident on North Lawndale Ave. It was unclear whether any packages were stolen from the truck.
No one was in custody late Wednesday, and no injuries were reported.
Chicago Police Department detectives are currently investigating the case.
“We’re relieved to learn the drivers are physically unharmed and we’re supporting local law enforcement in their investigation,” said Amazon spokesperson Montana MacLachlan. “While these crimes are rare across our network we continuously invest and will continue to invest in protecting drivers and community members, because even a single incident is one too many.”
The carjacking is the continuation of a startling trend across delivery, with a Bay Area Amazon delivery driver having briefly been kidnapped on a route in November. That incident occurred less than a week after a string of carjackings hit drivers at the e-commerce giant and delivery competitors FedEx and UPS.
As the carjackings linger, more incidents of cargo theft remain prevalent. According to CargoNet, over the five-year stretch between 2018 and 2022 within the dates of Dec. 23 to Jan. 2, there were 205 incidents. In that period, the average cargo theft was valued at $121,473. Given that the number of incidents increased progressively each year, with 56 coming last holiday season, CargoNet expects another increase to close out 2023.
Safety on the road isn’t the only concern for Amazon drivers. A Houston-area Amazon Flex delivery driver says she was harassed at a luxury apartment complex in the River Oaks district while trying to do her job earlier this month.
Video of the encounter has since gone viral on TikTok, showing a woman physically accosting the Amazon delivery driver, 25-year-old Jamaiya Miller, and wrestling a package out of her hands.
Miller told local news affiliate ABC13 that she was wearing her marked Amazon vest during the delivery and was trying to drop off a package at a residential building she had never been to before.
She said a resident allowed her into the building and in an elevator, and then she said things took a turn when a woman demanded she go to the concierge.
The woman in the video is heard saying, “We’ve had thieves here and you’re a thief.” Then you can see her push Miller, who is then heard telling the woman, “Please don’t touch me.” A second woman is also seen in the video, telling Miller she would call security on her.
Representatives for Belle Meade, the residential building at the River Oaks property, said their building policy is for all packages to be delivered to the concierge. According to Miller, she wasn’t aware of the policy until another resident informed her, but she was already on the floor of the apartment she needed to deliver to.
Miller said a doorman eventually came up and de-escalated the situation and she was able to leave and call 911 before filing a police report. The Houston Police Department confirmed it’s investigating the incident.
“The events depicted in this video are concerning,” MacLachlan said. “We’re supporting the delivery partner and working with law enforcement as they investigate. We proactively communicate to drivers who deliver for Amazon that they are never required to make a delivery if they feel unsafe.”
While Amazon drivers endure the modern dangers of delivery, Target-owned last-mile delivery firm Shipt appears to be exiting a major market.
Shipt is pausing service in Seattle, the company told members in an email. The same-day delivery company is suspending operations in the city starting Jan. 10.
Under Shipt’s business model, gig workers can pick up goods ordered online by customers at a retail store and deliver them to a consumer’s home.
The company cited the recent passing of ordinances in the Washington city as the reasoning for the departure, in which the workers will soon be under new legal protections.
Seattle City Council introduced and passed a suite of ordinances that protect gig workers in the past few years. The most recent ordinance passed in November, in which app-based delivery companies will be required to pay a 10-cent per-order fee for online deliveries in Seattle starting in 2025.
On Jan. 13, ordinances that require minimum pay and paid sick time off for gig workers will take effect.
Annual and monthly members who cancel with the recent Carter’s partner will get a prorated refund based on the time remaining in their membership.
