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Imagine Joe Neu’s surprise when two police officers rang the doorbell of his Orlando home. Then things got even weirder when they announced they were delivering his groceries. It turns out the department had arrested Neu’s app-based delivery driver and didn’t want his perishables to spoil. Neu wasn’t alarmed, for an interesting reason.

WhereOrlando, Florida
WhoTwo officers
WhatDelivered a grocery order to Joe Neu’s house
WhyThe department had arrested his delivery driver

What began as an ordinary day for the Orlando police department took an unexpected turn. They noticed a suspicious driver and ran his plates only to find he was wanted. On felony charges. In Florida, and in Texas.

Grocery delivery bag
Grocery bag | SeventyFour via Unsplash

Needless to say they pulled the man over immediately. But as they were processing suspect Richard Robertson, they noticed he was in the middle of making a grocery delivery. That’s right, Robertson was working for an app such as Door Dash. I thought the delivery apps did background checks, but I digress.

The officers had a couple of choices. I am sure they could have ignored the food, but if they impounded the car it would soon spoil. It was also not technically Robertson’s property, so they were looking at some messy paperwork. They agreed the quickest and simplest solution would be to finish the delivery on their own. And in the process, they put the “serve” in “protect and serve.”

So why wasn’t Neu worried when the local police arrived at his house with his groceries? He said, “My dad was a police officer when I was growing up, so I have the utmost respect for them, so when I saw that, it was wonderful to see.”

See Joe Neu’s “Ring” doorbell footage in the video below: