Colorado postal carriers rally for better protections as attacks increase: "That's just a card to say, 'hey, do what you want'"
As postal trucks become a target for thieves and workers are attacked and threatened, letter carriers in Colorado say it's time for change.
"It can be quite scary," Mark Robins said.
Robins has been delivering mail for nearly 20 years in Colorado Springs and has seen the risks grow.
"I've heard stories of people coming out with baseball bats, ski masks, that kind of stuff," he said. "It can make the job very challenging."
He stood alongside several of his fellow carriers to demand better protection.
"Enough is enough! enough is enough," the group chanted outside a post office in Aurora.
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Colorado has several notable cases this year alone.
In March, police shot and killed a teenage girl after she tried to rob a carrier at gunpoint and then shot at officers.
Last month another assault suspect demanded the carrier hand over her keys, court documents in that case explain the right key can be used on a number of mailboxes.
"That has been one concern and the (National Association of Letter Carriers) and the Postal Service are working together to resolve these issues but they are looking for anything and everything, " said Richard Byrne, president of the Colorado Association of Letter Carriers.
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He says their concern goes beyond the streets and into the courtroom.
There have been roughly 2,000 attacks across the country since 2020. Only 14 of those resulted in an arrest and prosecution, according to the National Association of Letter Carriers -- the letter carrier's national union.
"That's just a card to say, 'hey, do what you want,' and that needs to stop they need to be held accountable," Byrne said.
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Until changes are made, carriers say they are relying on the communities they serve.
"We watch out for our community, and they watch out for us," Byrne said.
