FedEx has been accused of asking a Black delivery driver to “complete his route” despite being attacked by two white men while at work last month.
The 24-year-old driver, D’Monterrio Gibson, told reporters he was confronted by two white men who shot at him on 24 January for being “suspicious”. He was delivering packages in Brookhaven, a town about 55 miles south of Jackson, Mississippi.
He said his FedEx bosses told him to return to the company’s facility with his bullet-riddled van and that they would file a police report the next morning.
Mr Gibson told the Mississippi Free Press however that he filed his own report straight away and explained the situation, telling police the two white men told him he was acting “suspicious”.
He said he was not, and was in fact working and wearing his FedEx uniform at the time.
On Thursday, an attorney for Mr Gibson told reporters the 24-year-old had in fact complained to his bosses about the incident and said the company “didn’t show any concern.”
“In fact, what they wanted Mr Gibson to do was complete his route, complete his route — after he just almost lost his life,” said attorney Rodney Diggs. “You have bullet fragments in the truck and in the car”.
“Clearly, someone that young that has dealt with this sort of shooting as it happened in the Ahmaud Arbery style is suffering from stress, and for sure, PTSD,” said Mr Diggs in the video shared by Now This.
“You shouldn’t require a young, Black male who just experienced racism at its highest height in 2022 to continue to do work,” the attorney added, after making a reference to the killing of a Black man in Georgia in 2020.
While no legal action has yet been taken against FedEx, Mr Diggs said his law firm was “exploring all legal options available to Mr Gibson” on Friday, in remarks reported by Insider.
The delivery driver said in an interview last week that he felt “disrespected” by the response from Brookhaven Police Department, after investigators allegedly told him the town was “unracist”.
Mr Gibson also told CNN he experienced anxiety attacks and was placed on unpaid leave on 2 February after FedEx put him on the same route the following day.
The company has so far appeared to deny the claims and said it “takes situations of this nature very seriously,” in a statement to news outlets.
Police have since charged two men, Gregory and Brandon Case, with aggravated assault after the father and son turned themselves in on 1 February, the Mississippi Free Press reported.
The Independent has approached FedEx and the police department for comment.
