Amazon worker raises concern after two separate incidents involving guns at work
WEST JEFFERSON, Ohio (WCMH) – A second incident involving a gun brought police to the Amazon facility in West Jefferson Wednesday morning.
According to a police report, a contracted employee working at the Amazon CMH4 building was “clearing the yard” and knocked on the side of a semi-truck to wake up the driver. The driver who had dropped a load off at the facility late the night before was sleeping and woke up to what he said were “loud bangs.”
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The two men got into an altercation in which the truck driver allegedly “swung at the head” of the worker but missed. The worker then went to his personal vehicle and retrieved a handgun before returning to the semi-truck.
West Jefferson police said they reviewed surveillance footage, and the worker did not take the gun out of his pocket, and the truck driver assumed a fighting stance against the man before getting in his truck and driving off.
A single charge for disorderly conduct was filed against the truck driver. The worker who retrieved the gun from his vehicle was not charged.
This is the second incident at the Amazon facility since Sunday when a contracted employee fired a gun at the back of the head of another “security” worker inside the building. That gunshot missed the target and led to the suspect leaving the facility before being tracked down by Columbus Police. That suspect was then killed by Columbus Police when he got into a shootout with police in West Columbus later that same day.
Erin Stapleton works in the same building where Sunday’s shooting took place. She said she doesn’t feel safe going to work, and that no safety or security measures have been put in place since the shooting.
“There has been no clarification on what happened. I learned through news media, through Facebook, an email was sent about mental health options that we have. There was never a formal address as to what happened. But there was a pizza party for people who went through that experience. They did get a pizza party,” she said.
Amazon claims in-person communications regarding both incidents occurred all week, and said since numerous employees were on-site for a long period of time Sunday, Amazon provided them with food — they deny it was a “party.”
Stapleton said she is just one of many current employees who feel not enough is being done to ensure their safety.
“They’re afraid to speak up. They don’t want to lose their job. They don’t want to be at their job because they could lose their life. We are all living in fear. If you hear a skid fall, people are jumping. People, you can just tell that they’re kind of like, hyper vigilant to their surroundings now,” she said.
An Amazon spokesperson said employees are encouraged to bring their concerns, questions and ideas to facility workers.
“[Employees are] free to communicate about their personal experiences at Amazon with the media,” an Amazon spokesperson said.
Stapleton expressed concerns over transparency at work. When she was shown the police report from Wednesday morning’s incident between two men, she was surprised.
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“I have the director holding a meeting telling us that we had a weapon in the parking lot and then we have HR saying, ‘no, it wasn’t in the parking lot.’ And then you have another representative telling me, another HR Representative telling me, it was in a side parking lot,” she said.
Stapleton showed NBC4 pictures of the metal detectors inside CMH4, which she said are at the exit to the building, not the entrance. This prompted questions about the security team at the facility, and who they were there for.
“I thought they were security for us. I thought that we as Amazon associates have security only to come to find out. It’s more so for them to secure their packages and not the people. This is a loss prevention team. It is not a security team,” she said. “It’s very disheartening. It’s very concerning. And nobody should have to worry about their life at work.”
She said another line of work is an option, but she has to work to provide for her daughter who is soon to be 16 years old.
“If I had other options, I would have took those other options,” she said.
Amazon stated said firearms are not permitted in their facilities, and they take a comprehensive approach to workplace violence prevention with a variety of security controls in place. Amazon also claims police have been onsite at the facility all week following the incidents.
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