“Sgt. Robert likely saved a Christmas headache for many local residents by noticing these totes and getting them back to Amazon, hopefully in time for a holiday delivery.”
An Amazon delivery driver who said he was really “stressed” decided to dump dozens of Christmas packages on the side of a Massachusetts road. Had local police not discovered the potential gifts, they might not have arrived at all.
A sergeant from the Lakeville Police — operating just south of Boston – happened to notice the material while driving through the area at about 2 am Sunday morning, Lakeville Police announced in a statement.
The packages weren’t strewn around but carefully placed in three Amazon bags. When police examined the contents at the local station, they found more than 80 packages. They had heard nothing about any heist of an Amazon truck or of any packages missing or stolen. The police decided to call the nearest Amazon distribution center, return the packages and make some inquiries.
The mystery was solved Monday when an Amazon driver arrived at the police station and confessed to being responsible for lost packages. The Amazon employee said it happened during their Saturday evening delivery and that it was all due to stress. Police are prepared to let the matter rest without getting more involved.
“At this time, we are not seeking criminal charges and are considering this a human resources matter for Amazon,” Chief Matthew Perkins said in the statement, noting that the driver would address the incident at work.
“I would like to commend Sgt. Shawn Robert for his discovery of these unattended packages while on routine patrol,” Perkins said. “Sgt. Robert likely saved a Christmas headache for many local residents by noticing these totes and getting them back to Amazon, hopefully in time for a holiday delivery.”
Though the incident was resolved for Lakeville Amazon customers, others across the country have been affected by a nationwide strike of Amazon warehouse workers in the heart of the holiday season.
Amazon drivers went on strike Thursday in four states around the Christmas holidays – but the company assured customers that it would not affect most shipments ordered in time for Christmas delivery from arriving on time. Teamsters are striking at seven facilities but even if the union does represent thousands of personnel in Amazon’s workforce, that’s only about 1 percent of the total. Amazon is even disputing that the striking employees actually work for Amazon.
A spokesperson for Amazon says the company – that gained a stranglehold on US consumers during the Covid pandemic lockdowns – upped its starting minimum wage for warehouse staff and drivers by 20 percent and that the average salary is now $22 per hour. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was seen dining with President-elect Donald Trump and his wife Melania at Mar-a-Lago. Bezos, once viewed as a liberal Democrat because of his ownership of The Washington Post, also contributed a $1 million donation to the Trump inauguration fund. Internal polling indicated that a clear majority of Teamsters members supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
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