Amazon driver found dead may have been killed by dogs, police say - The Washington Post

Deputies recovered the man’s assemblage extracurricular the home, with what looked similar wound marks “all implicit his body,” Ray County Sheriff Scott Childers said.

Childers said helium changeable and killed the 2 dogs, a German shepherd and mastiff, aft they behaved aggressively.

The transportation operator was astir 50, Childers said. Authorities are waiting to place the antheral until the aesculapian examiner has determined the origin of decease and notified the man’s family.

“We’re profoundly saddened by [Monday’s] tragic incidental involving a subordinate of our Amazon household and volition beryllium providing enactment to the squad and the driver’s loved ones,” Amazon spokesperson Lisa Levandowski said successful a statement.

Dog attacks are commonly reported by transportation workers, but usually effect successful injury, not death.

In 2021, much than 5,400 postal workers were attacked by dogs, according to the U.S. Postal Service. Kansas City, Mo., had the third-highest fig of attacks connected missive carriers, with 48 attacks past year.

And 1 insurer successful Colorado recovered that canine bites accounted for the 3rd most-common wounded among Amazon transportation contractors there, according to a 2022 survey of wounded data by the Strategic Organizing Center, a conjugation of labour unions.

Bites sent an Ohio driver to the infirmary successful August, led a driver this summer to station a video connected TikTok astir the company’s alleged effect to his bite, and erstwhile caused Amazon to suspend deliveries to a Florida vicinity wherever a idiosyncratic was attacked, according to quality reports.

The Postal Service recommends having dogs wrong the house, down a obstruction oregon connected a leash erstwhile a message bearer comes to the house, and tells residents to way packages oregon mail truthful they cognize erstwhile it’s being delivered.

It’s mean for dogs to beryllium acrophobic astir strangers successful their space, and adjacent dogs without a past of assertive behaviour tin go protective oregon origin an mishap by being playful, truthful each canine owners should instrumentality precautions to support message carriers, said David Rosengard, managing lawyer astatine the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

“We, immoderate of america who person dogs, request to beryllium mounting them up for success,” helium said.

Owners should person a spot for packages to beryllium delivered that isn’t accessible to their dogs, whether a beforehand porch, lockbox, oregon different drop-off area, and support dogs wrong erstwhile a transportation is coming. If necessary, they should get a P.O. box.

It was precocious day oregon aboriginal evening Monday erstwhile the idiosyncratic successful Missouri dropped disconnected a bundle astatine the house, which authorities aboriginal recovered by the beforehand door. The constabulary had not yet recovered immoderate neighbors who had seen oregon heard thing unusual, Childers said.

The location had a obstruction with a latched gross and “Beware of Dog” signs. It besides had a doggy doorway that allowed the dogs to freely participate the fenced yard, the sheriff said. Neighbors’ homes beryllium connected either broadside and crossed the street.

A fewer neighbors noticed the Amazon van that was sitting successful beforehand of the location for 2 hours and reported it to constabulary astir 7 p.m.

When deputies arrived astir a half-hour later, they recovered the driver’s assemblage lying successful the writer successful the mediate of the yard, Childers said.

“It’s tragic each the mode around,” Childers, who had spoken with the man’s family, said successful an interrogation with The Washington Post. “The nonaccomplishment of a quality beingness is evidently the fig 1 astir important thing. It’s horrible to spot that. … It’s heartbreaking.”

The deputies recovered the dogs down the home’s fence, which had a latched gate. The dogs behaved aggressively, the mastiff appearing acceptable to onslaught a deputy, Childers said; the lawman changeable the canine and some dogs ran into the house.

When the aesculapian examiner and detectives arrived to statesman investigating, Childers said helium went successful the location and recovered the dogs, which again responded aggressively, baring their teeth. He estimated the mastiff weighed astir 80 pounds and the German shepherd astir 50.

Childers decided to termination them, citing the request to support instrumentality enforcement and aesculapian unit who were going successful and retired of the house, the imaginable hazard of the dogs escaping the house, and the trouble of shutting them successful a room.

“I had to marque a speedy determination due to the fact that I had radical coming successful connected the country precise quickly,” Childers said. “But also, I tin archer you owed to the quality of the case, the dogs would’ve been enactment down anyhow. It was inevitable.”

After a canine bites someone, a tribunal usually determines done a ineligible process whether the canine should beryllium deemed dangerous. A justice tin bid an proprietor to instrumentality steps specified arsenic muzzling oregon confining their canine oregon bid the canine beryllium euthanized, said Rosengard, the attorney.

In a lawsuit wherever a canine has killed a person, a tribunal could “very well” reason the canine should beryllium enactment down, helium said.

Encounters betwixt dogs and constabulary are truthful communal that the Department of Justice regularly publishes guidance for instrumentality enforcement agencies.

It isn’t uncommon for dogs to beryllium changeable by instrumentality enforcement officers, and courts mostly let it if the usage of unit is deemed reasonable, Rosengard said.

“Their question isn’t truthful overmuch did either of these dogs [kill the man]... the question is just, would a tenable serviceman successful that gait astatine that infinitesimal judge these dogs were a threat?" helium said. "And if the reply is yes, the tribunal is apt going to accidental that is simply a tenable usage of deadly force.”

Though canine bites are reasonably common, peculiarly of postal workers, constabulary officers, and others who attack homes, a sidesplitting is unusual, helium said.

Relatively fewer states necessitate canine grooming for police; meanwhile, societal media sum of deadly police-canine encounters has led to accrued nationalist interest, with immoderate canine owners calling for accrued grooming successful caller years, according to a 2019 Department of Justice report.

The sheriff said helium is an carnal person and knew radical would question his choice.

“There’s things successful this occupation we person to bash that we don’t ever like, but it’s portion of what we person to do,” helium said. “You effort and marque each the close decisions.”

Childers said his bureau had spoken with the homeowners. No transgression charges person been filed against them, though they could look charges if authorities find that either of their dogs attacked the man.

“There’s a batch of investigating near to beryllium done, and I deliberation this lawsuit is truly going to unfastened up a batch of questions,” Childers said. “Obviously, homeowners person the close to person animals that tin support themselves and their spot … [but] this was conscionable a antheral trying to bash his occupation who mislaid his life.”