Video shows the moment when, days before Christmas, a police officer found about 80 Amazon packages abandoned in the woods off a Lakeville, Massachusetts. Officers returned the packages and the orders were being redelivered; the department says the driver told investigators she was stressed out.
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Several dozen Amazon packages were discovered apparently abandoned in the woods of Lakeville, Massachusetts, early Sunday morning, days before Christmas, police said.
Officers collected them and returned the parcels to Amazon, according to the department, which said that the driver identified themselves and won't be facing charges, citing stress for dumping the packages.
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They were spotted, in three large, full totes, in the woods off Bedford Street around 2 a.m. by Sgt. Shawn Robert, according to police. Body camera footage shows the moment Robert spotted the abandoned packages scattered at the edge of the woods. He radioed for help when he realized all the items wouldn't fit in his cruiser.
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Officers loaded them into pickup trucks to get them back to the station.
With no recent reports of stolen packages in town, investigators opted to return them to the distribution center in Middleborough.
"I would like to commend Sgt. Shawn Robert for his discovery of these unattended packages while on routine patrol," Chief Matthew Perkins said in an initial news release. "Sgt. Robert likely saved a Christmas headache for many local residents by noticing these totes and getting them back to Amazon, hopefully in time for a holiday delivery."
Police didn't initially know why the packages were left unattended, but shared Monday evening that, earlier in the day, an Amazon driver came to the department to say they left the packages about 7 p.m. Saturday because of stress.
The department didn't share more about the nature of the stress, but noted that the driver, whom they didn't identify, planned to tell their manager about the incident.
"I am proud of the way our Lakeville Police officers handled and investigated this matter. At this time, we are not seeking criminal charges and are considering this a human resources matter for Amazon," Perkins said in a second statement.
Amazon confirmed to NBC10 Boston that all the orders have been reprocessed and either have been redelivered or are being redelivered.
"Customers can check their accounts to see updates around expected delivery times. We also thank Lakeville PD for finding and returning the packages, and we’re working to support their investigation," an Amazon representative said in a statement.
The statement was shared before police announced that the driver had spoken to investigators and wasn't facing charges. NBC10 Boston has reached out for further comment.
Assonet resident Blake Brangan got a message from Amazon saying his package had been lost — it's since arrived.
"It’s just really crazy to just toss them out in the woods like that, but thankfully for that officer that found them," he said, while adding, "It’s stressful during the holidays, I really fell bad for whoever it was."
