A 21-year-old Amazon driver was arrested in Castro Valley, California, last week, charged with attacking a 67-year-old woman during a dispute, reportedly about “white privilege.”
The Amazon delivery driver, Itzel Ramirez, allegedly unleashed an onslaught of punches to the back of the victim’s head and face after a heated argument, which involved the female customer’s alleged “white privilege,” according to a report by KTVU FOX2.
“I believe the Amazon driver said something about ‘your white privilege,’ and my tenant said, ‘You don’t need to be a bitch about it,’ turned around and walked away,” apartment complex owner Doug Smith told the news outlet.
The landlord added that the victim was too shaken up to talk to the media about the incident, which was caught on camera, from multiple angles.
Smith explained that the fight began after the victim received an alert that her Amazon package had arrived, but when she went into the lobby to get it, she couldn’t find the package.
When the woman asked the Amazon driver where her package was, Ramirez said said she’d get it soon. The victim then waited for 15 minutes in the lobby, and then came back outside again. Shortly after that, the verbal exchange escalated into violent a confrontation.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Department said the victim suffered visible injuries, and possibly a broken nose, according to a report by KORN4.
“We can’t have our delivery drivers or people out there in the community attacking people, punching people in the face,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly.
Ramirez was arrested on suspicion of battery causing serious bodily injury, and elder abuse, both of which are felonies. The Amazon delivery driver is also being held on $100,000 bail, and will be arraigned on Monday.
“This does not reflect the high standards we have for drivers who deliver our packages,” Amazon said in a statement, responding to the incident. “We take these matters seriously and this individual is no longer delivering Amazon packages.”
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