Carrier says he was attacked, criticizes USPS response

CHARLOTTE — Channel 9 has been reporting on attacks on letter carriers for years.

Understandably, the victims don’t often want to share their stories.

However, one man who says it happened to him talked with Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke.

We’ll call the letter carrier “Michael” since he asked not to reveal too much about his identity, Stoogenke said.

He says someone attacked him near Albemarle Road in east Charlotte.

In many of these attacks, the criminals were after the letter carrier’s keys, also known as arrow keys, so they could steal mail.

But Michael says, in his case, the man drove up in a car and jumped out, complaining about a delivery. Michael says the alleged attacker then “became aggressive, swung at me,” landed punches, wrestled with him, and told him, “He would return to his vehicle and get a firearm and shoot me.”

Michael says the man eventually left, but, according to the victim’s medical records, left the letter carrier with the following injuries: abrasion, hematoma (like a bruise), and sprain.

“I have a family and I leave my family in hopes of coming back in one piece,” he said.

He asked the U.S. Postal Service not to send him back on the same route, especially because he says investigators haven’t arrested the man and, according to an email he says federal agents sent him, prosecutors don’t plan to pursue this case. It’s not clear why.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever been a victim of a crime, but it’s hard to return to the scene,” he said.

But Michael says he didn’t get the response he hoped for. He says his boss gave him a Letter of Warning. It says USPS and the property owner offered him security at the site, but that he turned it down and that if he doesn’t “discharge his duties,” he could face more discipline, even lose his job.

“It’s difficult when it seems like I’m fighting two adversaries. One is the person that has not yet been arrested,” he said. “And also, it’s like I am fighting against my employer to provide a safe working environment.”

The Postal Service emailed Stoogenke, “Combating mail theft and violent crimes against our employees is of the highest priority for the Postal Service and Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the Postal Service. Through our continued, dedicated efforts, we are committed to making America’s mail system safer — from ensuring the protection of our letter carriers to making sure packages and mail make it to their destination safely and efficiently. The Postal Service is subject to the Privacy Act, which prevents us from disclosing information about employees. For this reason, the Postal Service does not comment on such personnel matters or ongoing investigations."

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