Woman who called police on Black delivery driver faces hate crime charge, CA cops say

A California woman faces a hate crime charge after police said she accused a Black delivery driver of speeding and followed him, leading to a confrontation in which she used “hateful language.”

Berkeley police said a 35-year-old woman, who hasn’t been named, was arrested April 18 after they received a report of a disturbance. The woman said a delivery driver was speeding and that she and her boyfriend decided to follow the driver, according to police.

The woman “used force” to stop the driver from leaving and “used hateful language disparaging people of color,” authorities said.

The driver, Kendall McIntosh, who is Black, told KRON4 that the woman’s boyfriend stood behind the truck to stop him from leaving and that the woman used racial slurs against him and jumped inside the vehicle, grabbing the steering wheel.

McIntosh said he was “thankful” that witnesses recorded the incident on video.

“What constantly was running through my mind was you know it could be me in handcuffs instead of her so no matter what the situation is, just protect yourself,” McIntosh said. “If you feel like you have to videotape it or anything, definitely do that because I felt like if there wasn’t a video. ... she probably could’ve gotten away with saying this.

The woman was arrested for false imprisonment, battery, using offensive words and threatening a person based on their perceived characteristics, police said.

Berkeley police said the woman faces a hate crime charge because she is accused of committing “a crime against a person, group, or property motivated by the victim’s real or perceiving protected social group,” according to the news release.

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