D.C. police are investigating after the release of a video that appears to show a delivery driver being berated inside a business by an unidentified person for not speaking English. Police said they’re investigating the incident as potentially being motivated by hate or bias.
In the video on TikTok, a man can be heard berating the delivery driver inside CANNA Coffee in Northwest D.C.
The driver, Gregario Amundaria, told News4 and Telemundo 44 he felt humiliated and threatened as the man repeatedly yelled “learn English” and cursed at him.
Amundaria said it was his first time picking up an order from the business.
He said he has been working as a delivery driver for seven months and works to support his 2-year-old daughter, who lives in Venezuela.
Amundaria said he’s now afraid to continue working as a delivery driver and his family has asked him to return to Venezuela.
When News4 went to CANNA to try to find the unidentified man and speak with him, another man exited the business and questioned the intent.
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Then News4 tried to speak with a man believed to be the man in the video, but he would not confirm his identity or whether he was the person in the video.
News4 was invited into the business but told not to record. An interview agreement could not be reached. News4 attempted to reach the business via phone call and text message to get a statement but has not heard back.
D.C. police have not charged anyone in connection with the incident.
“The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating this offense as potentially being motivated by hate or bias,” police said in a statement. “The designation can be changed at any point as an investigation proceeds and more information is gathered.”
Uber Eats posted a statement on its Instagram account Wednesday, saying, “We are disgusted by the behavior in this video. Hate has no place on our platform. We have removed this business from our app and are working to check in on this courier's well-being."
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