Angie Harmon Sues Instacart, Driver Who Murdered Her Dog
Angie Harmon is suing over the horrific killing of her dog.
In early April, Angie Harmon accused an Instacart delivery driver of murdering her dog. The emotional post conveyed her devastation, shock, and outrage over the senseless loss.
The actress’ attempt to bring the alleged killer to justice fell short. According to her, the police simply washed their hands of the matter once the shooter claimed “self defense” without evidence.
However, Angie Harmon’s quest for justice for her dog and her family is taking another route: she’s suing.
Early this spring, Angie Harmon reported that an Instacart driver killed her dog
As we reported in April, Angie Harmon took to her Instagram on April 1 to share a jarring story of grief and loss over a senseless death.
“A man delivering groceries for #Instacart shot & killed our precious Oliver,” she wrote in her heartbreaking caption. “He got out of his car, delivered the food, & THEN shot our dog.”
In her caption, Harmon emphasized that the man in question had no signs of bites, scratches, or torn clothing. It is therefore unclear what caused him to cite “self-defense” to the police.
Harmon noted two key details beyond the obvious tragedy and the frustration of having police shrug it off.
The first was that, according to her, the driver repeatedly confirmed — and thus confessed to — shooting her dog.
And the second was that, according to Angie Harmon, the man was shopping under another person’s identity. Their Instacart communications had told her that her shopper was “a woman named Merle.”
Angie Harmon is suing Instacart and a delivery driver
People reports that court documents disclose that the actress, best known for her roles on Law & Order and on Rizzoli & Isles, is suing both Instacart and a delivery driver by the name of Christopher Anthoney Reid.
Her lawsuit lists trespassing, conversion, negligence, negligent supervision/hiring, invasion of privacy, and negligent misrepresentation.
It appears that Angie Harmon’s aim is not to increase her (reportedly sizable) net worth. People‘s report says that she is asking for over $25,000 in damages, though the trial will determine the exact amount. It sounds like this is, instead, about her quest for justice.
The legal filing details Harmon’s accounting of events. On March 30, she scheduled a grocery delivery from a Charlotte, North Carolina grocery chain. She believed that she was interacting with Merle, per the Instacart app, as she answered questions about her order.
However, “Merle” never arrived to deliver Harmon’s groceries. Instead, her legal team explains, “Reid was impersonating Merle on the Instacart app.” Thus, a “tall and intimidating younger man” arrived on her property.
There is a well-documented phenomenon of delivery gig workers impersonating others, to conceal records, to get better tips, or simply to trade jobs with other drivers. From Walmart to Doordash and beyond, this has left many customers feeling unsettled and vulnerable.
The safety issues extended even beyond this tragic killing
When Angie Harmon heard what she took to be a gunshot, she raced downstairs. Harmon’s children were home, in the backyard.
Harmon allegedly observed that Reid “was placing a gun in the front of his pants, potentially in his pant pocket. Looking to the side, she saw that her beloved dog, Oliver, was shot. Although shot, Oliver was still alive.”
Despite the best efforts of Harmon and the veterinarian to whom she rushed him, Oliver died. The Charlotte Mekclenburg Police Department questioned Reid, but despite no signs of injury on Reid, police didn’t even bother to wait for the necropsy before closing the investigation.
Notably, Instacart publicly expressed their condolences to Angie Harmon after the horrific death of her dog. The company also assured that the shopper account (presumably “Merle”) had received a permanent deactivation.
Instacart also prohibits delivery drivers from carrying weapons or the sharing of account information or responsibilities. It seems that Reid allegedly violated both of these policies.
Presumably, Harmon’s lawsuit towards Instacart pertains to how an armed maniac allegedly slipped through the cracks and altered her family dynamic forever. Though she is reportedly seeking a very small sum, it’s likely that she hopes that her lawsuit will prevent this from happening again.
