Authorities in Minnesota are looking for an Instacart driver who allegedly drove over an elderly couple’s groceries after seeing a pro-police sign on their property.
In a press release, the Blaine Police Department said the incident occurred on Dec. 6 after the couple placed a grocery order from a local Cubs Foods through the Instacart app.
After they were notified that the shopper had arrived, the couple went outside to meet them worried that they would get trapped in the snow on the driveway.
“When the couple opened the front door, the delivery driver yelled back at them to check inside of their Christmas wreath. They also reported the driver was driving back and forth in the driveway. Upon checking inside the wreath, they located the receipt from the grocery order with a derogatory message,” the police department said.
“After the delivery driver left, they found that their groceries had been run over in the driveway.”
According to the police, the couple received a full refund from Instacart for their order as well as an “outpouring of support from the community.”
The identity of the driver has been confirmed, though authorities did not release their name. KSTP-TV reported that the Blaine Police Department described the driver as a 36-year-old woman from Coon Rapids, Minn.
“She is not cooperating with us, if you can believe that,” Blaine Police Chief Brian Podany said. The department said charges against the driver are “likely in the near future.”
Police did not disclose what was written on the receipt, though a person who identified themselves as a relative of the couple shared images on Facebook of the crushed groceries and the slip of paper.
On the receipt, the shopper appears to have written, “Instacart doesn’t pay employees Sry find another slave f— the racist police pigs.”
The sign that apparently upset the driver reads “Thank You Blaine P.D.”
According to their relative, the elderly couple had to budget “carefully” for their Instacart order. A GoFundMe page has been set up to accept offers of support that were made after the incident was reported. As of Tuesday afternoon, the page has raised over $9,000.
“We’re appalled by the unacceptable actions of this shopper, who has been removed from the Instacart platform as a result,” Instacart said in a statement to The Hill. “We’ve been in direct contact with the customers to refund their order and provide additional resources. We’ll continue to provide support to the impacted customers and will also work directly with local law enforcement on any investigations into this matter.”
Updated 5:37 p.m.