Amazon delivery driver Kendall McIntosh said he was just trying to do his job, when a woman and her boyfriend chased him down and caused a commotion, hassling him and hurling racial slurs.
Around 7:54 p.m. on April 18 Berkeley, California, officers say they responded to a report of a disturbance involving the driver of a package delivery service and another driver. According to investigators, the driver and her boyfriend thought they saw a package delivery truck speeding through the neighborhood. After following the truck for a distance, they confronted McIntosh in an altercation during which the driver “used force to prevent the package delivery person from leaving and used hateful language disparaging of people of color.”
The driver was identified as 35-year-old Julie Warland, who was arrested by police last week on hate crime charges.
Bystanders caught footage of the encounter that McIntosh told KRON4 left him feeling “scared and unsafe.”
“Instantly just started cursing me out like, first sentence I’m getting cursed at,” said McIntosh. “Very derogatory language, you know I was getting constant F-bombs thrown at me. I was getting just racially profiled from the jump.”
“That’s when the harassing started happening. I was just trying to do my job and she wouldn’t allow me to, she closed both double doors in the van I was trying to leave out of,” he continued.
McIntosh said Warland’s boyfriend blocked him from leaving by standing behind the delivery truck and Warland even entered his vehicle for a few minutes and attempted to take control of the steering wheel.
“His girlfriend also jumped inside my van as I was trying to back up and grabbing onto the steering wheel. She did that two times in a row,” said McIntosh.
As McIntosh exited the vehicle, he was still subject to a barrage of yelling and racist language.
He also expressed relief that neighbors took the initiative to record the incident, since he has had similar experiences in the past.
“What constantly was running through my mind was you know it could be me in handcuffs instead of her so no matter what the situation is, just protect yourself. If you feel like you have to videotape it or anything, definitely do that because I felt like if there wasn’t a video. It wasn’t being recorded, she probably could’ve gotten away with saying this,” said McIntosh.
Walrand was arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment, battery, using offensive words, and willfully threatening a person based on their perceived characteristics. It is unclear if the boyfriend faced any charges.
This was the second hate crime arrest in Berkeley this month, according to KRON4.
In an official statement, the Berkeley Police Department said that it “recognizes and places a high priority on the rights of all individuals guaranteed under state and federal law. The commission of a hate crime is a serious offense, which will not be tolerated in the City of Berkeley.”
