Doorbell video shows mail carrier throwing packages over Chicago woman’s fence

By Suzanne Le Mignot

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — We all count on getting our packages delivered at home, but the way a Canaryville neighborhood woman has been getting her packages delivered has her wanting action from the United States Postal Service.

On Aug. 21, 2023, two packages were delivered with a thud to the home of Nicole Mildner. As seen on Ring doorbell video, a postal worker just dropped them over the chain-link fence in front of her house and let them fall hard onto the lawn.

On Oct. 16, 2023, it happened again.

“At that point, like, you know, maybe the first time maybe I could throw it off as like an accident, or you know, he was just having a bad day,” Mildner said, “but once you start doing it the second or the third time, I think at that point, you’re doing it on purpose.”

On August 2, 2024, a package was thrown over the fence across the grass. And on Jan. 10 of this year, in the middle of winter, five packages were thrown over the fence onto the snow-covered front lawn.

“He obviously doesn’t even care to even, you know, try to be at least somewhat respectful,” said Mildner.

Mildner said she has sent more than five complaints to the United States Postal Service since 2022 about the mail carrier’s package delivery technique in front of her Canaryville two-flat.

“He knows that these complaints are being filed, especially if they’re telling me, ‘Oh, we’ve had a talk with him,'” Mildner said. “So if they’re actually having talks with him, then he knows these complaints are coming through and so, like I said, at this point, I think he just doesn’t care because he knows he can get away with it.”

Mildner said packages for her downstairs neighbors might also have been thrown over the front fence.

The fence in front of Mildner’s home has a gate right front and center that opens very easily — allowing people like mail carriers to come right up to the door and leave packages there. But Mildner said the postal carrier is not doing that — and when he’s not dropping packages over the fence, he’s marking them undeliverable.

A spokesperson said if a package does not fit in the mailbox, the carrier will knock on the door and hand the package to the customer. But that is obviously different than what happened in the videos taken by Mildner’s Ring doorbell cam.

“There’s no lock on the gate. There’s nothing blocking him from delivering the package,” said Mildner, “so that’s another aspect of it too when he marks it that way.”

Among the items marked as undeliverable were a coat and shoe rack.

“He just refused to deliver it. He marked it one day as undeliverable,” Mildner said. “After that, I had to go in there and schedule multiple re-deliveries.”

Mildner said fortunately, none of her items have been damaged in the package-tossing delivery process. But she just wants to see change.

“Training,” she said, “or I mean, if he doesn’t like this route, I guess a different route.”

CBS News Chicago reached out to the United States Postal Service for comment. They said they are now investigating.

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