Dangerous delivery in Tucson area highlights growing threats

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TUCSON, Arizona (KOLD News 13) – Every second counts in an emergency.

A DoorDash driver says a customer threatened to shoot him and it took too long for the 911 operator to answer his 911 call.

The driver said it was a terrifying ordeal, especially considering there have been several fatal incidents involving delivery drivers across the country.

It was an easy stop in Walgreens for DoorDash driver Ryan Menehune.

He was commissioned to deliver three items to a customer in an apartment on the east side.

But the order fell short.

“You are out of two or three objects. The customer was irritated on the phone and got quite aggressive. Hang up, ”said Menehune.

He showed up at the apartment to deliver the one item, and when he approached the customer, “he snatched out of my hand and just made a verbal tirade,” Menehune said.

Seconds later, said Menehune, the customer told him he would pick up his gun and smoke it.

Just as Menehune turned the corner to return to his car, he said, he heard the rack on the man’s gun slide, indicating that he had loaded a bullet into it.

Menehune owns a bespoke handgun and repair company and is a self-defense teacher. He can recognize the different noises made by a weapon.

“He just said he was going to shoot me. He threatened me verbally, ”said Menehune.

So he called 911 and put his cell phone in his pocket.

The customer, he said, was looking for him and mocking him for getting closer again.

Menehune drove out of the apartment complex in shock and was still waiting for the 911 to pick up. A few minutes later he was handed over to the TPD emergency number.

“I was greeted with a nice automated message that my call was important to you and that I should stay on the line because someone would be there shortly,” he said.

Worried that the customer jumped into a car and followed him, Menehune said, he drove around for fear of his safety. He estimated it took more than two minutes to reach a dispatcher.

And now he wonders: Why did it take so long?

Deputy Chief Chad Kasmar, interim director for Public Safety Communications, said the phone rang for 51 seconds, which is longer than he would have liked.

“The goal,” said Kasmar, “is to answer an emergency call within 15 seconds in 90% of the cases and within 20 seconds in 95% of the cases.”

Menehune’s call fell well outside of these goals.

“Sometimes we answer these calls in two seconds and sometimes, during a congestion where we work depending on the call load, it is possible to receive more calls than traditional, which can support this timeframe,” said Kasmar.

The staff shortage remains a challenge, explained Kasmar. Of the 164 approved positions, 100 are currently filled.

“So we currently have around 60 vacancies that we have actively recruited and hired throughout the year,” said Kasmar.

When Menehune called, 31 calls came in within 10 minutes. That shift was almost full, but half of the callers were trainees.

“We try to take the time to train people. It is actually the trainee who will not be as efficient and that will affect our excess call handling time, but that is something we expect, ”said Kasmar.

Kasmar said dispatchers spoke to Menehune for 33 seconds, in which Menehune reported leaving the parking lot after a customer pulled a gun over a DoorDash order.

The dispatcher then stated that “it was not an urgent emergency, since he reported that he had moved away from the situation, this was absolutely correct.”

The dispatcher put Menehune on hold to hand over to TPD. He waited a little over two and a half minutes.

Kasmar said supervisors can adjust the workflow if necessary during peak hours.

And that might be necessary considering that there has been an increase in emergency calls over the past few months: about 10,000 more calls per month.

Menehune also reported the incident to DoorDash. In his opinion, the company does not offer enough training, resources and protection in dangerous situations.

“Since we’re independent contractors for them, they don’t offer anything,” Menehune said. “But this question – are you safe?”

KOLD reached out to DoorDash for an interview and received the following statement.

“We take the security of our community very seriously. The behavior of this customer is completely unacceptable and has no place on our platform. The customer has been deactivated, we have reached out to Dasher to offer our assistance and are standing by to assist law enforcement agencies in investigating this incident. “

The company announced that it has just launched SafeDash, an in-app toolkit for driver safety in six major cities. Tucson isn’t on the list, but it will be by the end of the year.

A spokeswoman for DoorDash said the app was developed over time in response to what the company had heard from drivers.

When Menehune was asked if he would continue to work for DoorDash, he replied, “You know, this is a difficult job. We’ll see how it goes. “

Kasmar noted that if you call 911, you should never hang up as your call will be routed to the back of the line.

Copyright 2021 KOLD News 13. All rights reserved.

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