Woman Charged With Hate Crime For Calling 911 On Black Amazon Driver
A woman has been charged with a hate crime after she reportedly accosted a Black man working in her neighborhood in April and called him a derogatory name.
According to a police report, Berkeley, California resident Julie Walrand, who is white, confronted the 25-year-old man, who was delivering Amazon packages on April 18. She parked beside his van “in a manner to prevent escape,” police wrote.
The delivery man subsequently attempted to drive away to deescalate the situation, “but was unable to because Walrand grabbed his steering wheel and hands.”
Police say Walrand then called 911 and told authorities the driver was “trying to escape” before screaming curses at the man, and again, the steering wheel.
According to court papers, Walrand cursed at the man after he got out of his van and yelled a derogatory term for Black people. Fearing for his safety, he got back into his van and was able to drive away.
While a portion of the incident was recorded, police have not released the footage to the public.
Berkeley Side reports the Alameda County D.A.’s office charged Walrand with a hate crime on Wednesday (June 16), as well as two counts of battery and disturbing the peace by offensive language. All four charges are listed as misdemeanors.
Walrand is scheduled for arraignment on July 1. She is no longer in police custody.
