Oregon Man Arrested for Shouting Racial Slurs at Black FedEx Driver—Police
A man has been arrested in Oregon on suspicion of a hate crime after allegedly threatening a Black FedEx driver with a gun while yelling racial slurs.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office said they were called to reports of a man making threats in Aloha just before 1 p.m. on Sunday, December 20.
Deputies said a FedEx driver was delivering packages near SW Cascadia Ct. and SW 188th Avenue when a man came out of his house and stood in the middle of the street to block the driver.
The suspect, later identified as 68-year-old Rodney Bryant of Aloha, then allegedly started making racial slurs towards the FedEx driver.
The FedEx driver was able to drive off, but Bryant got in his car and chased after him. The suspect is accused of pulling up alongside the truck with his car door open.
The FedEx driver said he could see that Bryant had a gun in his car and allegedly told him that he was "not afraid to use it" while continuing to yell racial slurs.
After the driver got away and called 911, Bryant was arrested. Deputies recovered a pellet gun from the suspect which had no orange tip and was "indistinguishable from a real gun," the Washington County Sheriff's Office said.
Bryant has been charged with bias crime in the first degree, unlawful use of a weapon, and menacing. He was booked into the Washington County Jail, with bail set at $10,000.
It is unclear what prompted the suspect to begin harassing the FedEx driver. The Washington County Sheriff's Office has been contacted for further comment.
Oregon law states a person commits Bias Crime, a felony, if a person intentionally, because of the person's perception of another person's race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or national origin, places another person in fear of imminent serious physical injury.
On the same day, the Washington County Sheriff's Office also responded to a stabbing in the 20600 block of SW 65th Avenue near Tualatin.
An investigation was launched after a man turned up at a local hospital just after midnight on Sunday reporting that he had been stabbed at a house.
Deputies then surrounded the house while the suspect, 48-year-old Astella Smith of Tualatin, was still inside.
Just before 7 a.m., Smith was detained and taken into custody. She was booked into the Washington County Jail on charges of assault in the second degree and unlawful use of a weapon.
