NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A South Florida family believes they’re being targeted by a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier.
They are accusing the carrier of making racist remarks and they said their mail is disappearing, showing up damaged and their packages are being thrown at their front door.
This family has lived at their North Lauderdale home for more than 20 years, but it wasn’t until about a year ago that they started having issues with their mail.
Their mail was getting sent to neighbors and neighbor’s mail was getting sent to them, in addition to at times not getting their mail at all.
So they filed a complaint.
That complaint did not sit well with their carrier.
Cell phone video captured the moments Barbara Latchana and her daughter were told to go back Libya or what sounds like India by their U.S. mail carrier in late October.
“We assume she thinks we are Muslim,” said Kristina Latchana, Barbara’s daughter. “We are not Muslim. That doesn’t make it right either way.
“She was very aggressive I’d say, and kind of rude,” added Barbara Latchana.
Barbara and Kristina Latchana, who are both Guyanese and of Indian decent, told Local 10 News’ Roy Ramos that since August of last year, they’ve had issues with the carrier.
At times, they say, receiving mail that was damaged. Their mailbox has been left open.
The woman driving the USPS vehicle has damaged thier lawn.
But those issues are just part of the problem, and issues the family said they never even reported.
That was until, they say, their mail stopped arriving.
“My credit card went missing,” said Kristina Latchana. “My voter card never showed up. We were supposed to get four voter cards. Only three came and mine was missing.”
The family filed a complaint against the carrier last year, and another after this most recent incident which began to raise concerns for their safety.
After calling the police, the family was told to report the woman to their local post office, which they did.
The post office responded with an email that read, in part:
“On behalf of the Postal Service, I would like to express my personal regrets…Our high standards of service are not reflected in this incident, which we regret...Please be assured that the necessary steps are being taken to prevent a repeat of the incident.”
But Barbara Latchana said an apology is just not enough, especially when the same carrier is still on the same route, passing her home every day.
“I want her off the road,” she said. “She might go and attack someone else because she is very racist.”
Local 10 News reached out to USPS which said due to privacy laws, they were unable to say how or if that carrier was disciplined.
As for the family, they are worried for their safety with that carrier continuing to deliver their mail.