- An
Amazon driver was caught on film punching a customer. She said she acted in self-defense. - Video footage shows the worker beating the woman around her head, KTVU reported.
- The worker was arrested. Amazon told Insider she is no longer delivering packages for the company.
An Amazon delivery driver was caught on camera punching a 67-year-old customer during a dispute over a delayed package in
Footage shows the driver striking the woman multiple times around her head. The incident, which took place in Castro Valley, was captured from several angles by a surveillance camera.
The Amazon worker, Iztel Ramirez, 21, was arrested on Thursday. She said she hit the woman in self-defense, according to KTVU Fox 2.
The outlet reported that Doug Smith, the owner of the elderly woman's apartment building, said the fight began when she received a notification that a package had arrived. But when she went to the lobby to find it, the package wasn't there.
The woman asked Ramirez of its whereabouts and was told she would receive it soon. After waiting for 15 more minutes, the woman reportedly questioned Ramirez again, kicking off a violent dispute.
Smith was quoted as saying: "I believe the Amazon driver said something about 'your white privilege,' and my tenant said, 'You don't need to be a b***h about it,' turned around and walked away."
An Amazon spokesperson told Insider in a statement: "This does not reflect the high standards we have for drivers who deliver our packages. We take these matters seriously and this individual is no longer delivering Amazon packages."
The Alameda County Sheriff's Department said the woman had possibly suffered a broken nose and other visible injuries.
Sheriff Ray Kelly was quoted by KTVU Fox 2 as saying: "We can't have our delivery drivers or people out there in the community attacking people, punching people in the face."
Ramirez was arrested on suspicion of battery causing serious bodily injury and elder abuse, according to the outlet. Her bail has been set at $100,000.