A United States Postal Service worker in Florida late last month allegedly believed a kid on an electric scooter was making off with a package he had just delivered — and let’s just say the postal worker’s decision-making after that point was not the smartest.
Citing a Florida Highway Patrol report, the Pensacola News Journal said 41-year-old William White Jr. dropped off a package on Kingfisher Way in Escambia County on Dec. 27.
‘It’s not a normal porch pirate running up snatching packages that you just dropped off.’
The FHP report said a “child, whose family owns that residence, saw the package was meant for a different address,” the News Journal added.
With that, the child — a 10-year-old, according to WALA-TV — grabbed the package and put it on his electric scooter to deliver it to the correct address, the FHP said, according to the News Journal.
But when White saw the child with the package, he believed the kid was stealing it, the paper said.
“White then purposely drove the USPS vehicle towards the child and ran over the scooter,” the FHP report said, according to the News Journal. “The child was able to get into the nearby yard prior to the scooter being hit.”
White then grabbed the scooter from underneath the USPS vehicle, placed it on the truck, and then drove off after yelling at the child, the paper said, citing the FHP report.
One of the child’s family members followed White to confront him, leading to White throwing the scooter into a nearby yard on Blue Jay Way, the FHP said, according to the News Journal.
Troopers said the child suffered an ankle injury in the incident and was taken to the Studer Family Children’s Hospital in Pensacola, WEAR-TV reported.
RELATED: Atlanta police make arrest in connection with homeowner who cops say shot 2 teenage porch pirates
White was interviewed and arrested on New Year’s Eve after he returned to work, officials told WALA.
He was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, petit theft, and criminal mischief, the News Journal said.
Jail records indicate White was released later on New Year’s Eve; his bond totaled $5,500, and his next court date is Jan. 23.
Florida Highway Patrol Captain Jason King told WEAR, “This isn’t just an oops crash with a 10-year-old. This is an intentional act by a United States postal worker trying to run over a 10-year-old.”
King added to WEAR that “it’s amazing what a small conversation would do in a situation instead of jumping straight to use of force. Putting your hands on somebody, or just really escalating way past where it should have been. It’s a 10-year-old on a scooter. It’s not a normal porch pirate running up snatching packages that you just dropped off.”
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