Bags of Unopened Mail Found Dumped in California Parking Lots

On Thursday morning, piles of mail were found in two separate locations in Glendale. According to KTLA, one of those incidents involved a rented truck dumping bags of unopened mail in the parking lot of a business. This incident was reportedly captured on surveillance video.

Glendale Police Department Sgt. Christian Hauptmann noted that the first incident was reported at 7:30 a.m. local time in the 1000 block of Allen Avenue. About two hours after this incident, police reportedly received another call about an instance of dumped mail. This second incident took place in the 1600 block of Glenoaks Boulevard, per Hauptmann. Police were able to obtain video footage of this second incident, which took place outside of 7Q Spa Laser & Aesthetics. Lilia Serobian, one of the medical spa's owners, told KTLA, "It happened early in the morning, 5:40, and it was a Budget rental — big truck — that backed up to the parking lot. And they're like, slowly, one by one, they're dropping the packages." She said that there was a "huge pile" of mail, all of which was United States mail. Although, she noted that the truck that was seen on the surveillance footage was not a United States Postal Service vehicle. A USPS manager later came to collect the mail.

Glendale police said that USPS investigators are looking into this matter. Investigators are currently trying to determine which postal service location and, more specifically, what route the mail came from. They are also looking into the identity behind the driver of the truck. Both of these incidents come as the USPS has been involved in a great deal of controversy as of late. The USPS has come under fire for changes made within the organization that have led to widespread mail delays. Americans have been especially critical of these changes, and the effect that it has had on mail service, particularly as many eligible voters are preparing to vote by mail-in ballot for the upcoming presidential election due to the current coronavirus pandemic.

The Los Angeles Times published a report in late August that shared employee accounts of food left rotting in packages and baby chicks left dead due to processing delays for these parcels. As KTLA reported, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that the state is seeking an immediate reversal to the Postal Service's new policies. Becerra said that these changes "have slowed mail operations across the country," and have led to many delays in mail service across the United States.