More Chicago mail carriers held up at gunpoint for mailbox keys
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It is a problem in Chicago that we have been telling you about for months - an uptick in violent attacks on letter carriers.
Thieves and robbers are after the postal workers' arrow keys, which can be used to open mailboxes all across the city. It has happened over and over again – and the consequence is your mail goes missing, while mail carriers feel they cannot do their jobs safely.
"They're out there each and every day - and wthey're working in fear," said said Elise Foster, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Chicago. "Our workers are working in fear each and every day, not knowing what could possibly happen to them."
Foster is first and foremost a letter carrier. As union president, she speaks on her colleagues' behalf.
"The message to the carriers – we let them know to comply. Give them what they want. Get themselves out of harm's way," she said. "They are the number one deliveries to deliver themselves home to their family - and that's what we want each and every day."
In the last two weeks, Foster said she has heard reports from eight carriers attacked on the job. CBS 2 was able to confirm five – which all unfolded similarly.
The latest robbery happened at 2:32 p.m. Monday, March 20, in the alley behind 6400 block of North Hoyne Avenue in West Rogers Park.
Police said a 36-year-old male victim was approached by someone with a gun who demanded his postal property. The victim handed over the property before the robber fled east in a white four-door sedan – possibly a Toyota Camry, police said.
The letter carrier was not injured.
We have confirmed the remaining four attacks targeting mail carriers all unfolded similarly. They all happened in broad daylight, and most were at gunpoint.
The other robberies of postal workers happened in Auburn Gresham, Chatham, and Brainerd – all relatively close to each other, but on the opposite side of the city from West Rogers Park.
The details were as follows:
- At 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, March 7, a 54-year-old woman was accosted by two men in the 7900 block of South LaSalle Street. The men displayed a gun and took her vehicle keys. The suspects ran into a parked red car and fled south.
- At 12:08 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, a 33-year-old woman said she was outside in the 9200 block of South Throop Street when a man came up and demanded postal property at gunpoint. The robber took the property and fled in east in a four-door vehicle.
- At 12:49 p.m. Thursday, March 16, a 35-year-old woman was in the 7900 block of South Throop Street when someone came up and demanded postal property at gunpoint. The victim complied and the robber left in a black sedan that fled south.
- At 12:56 p.m. Thursday, March 16, a 51-year-old man was in the 8400 block of South Sangamon Street when a black four-door vehicle came up and a man got out and took packages. The thief then got back into the vehicle and left. A weapon was not used in this incident.
None of the victims were physically injured – but the lasting impacts of trauma, we are told, make it difficult for mail carriers to feel safe.
"We don't know if it's the same person that's doing this, but we just get the call from the letter carriers," Foster said.
We also do not know the status of the investigations. We reached out to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which confirmed investigations into the robberies are ongoing. But they USPIS would not say anything else.
"I've been told from the postmaster today that they're working on something - but what it is, they cannot disclose that to us," Foster said. "It's very frustrating, because they need to let their members know what they're doing - at least attempting to do - for their safety."
Previously, we reported on efforts the union is making to help keep their members safe – like getting rid of large mailboxes called cluster boxes that are accessible using the arrow keys.
"I mean, we probably need some modernization with it, to make something happen to devalue the key," Foster said.
But proposed City Council legislation to do just that has stalled. Now, the union is appealing to the public.
"Whatever you can do, you know, is a great help," Foster said. "You know, they want to make sure that they're protected when they're out there working, and that someone has their back"
The postal inspectors told us anyone with information on any of these cases can receive $50,000 in reward money – should that information lead to an arrest.
So far, no one is in custody.