Police in Billerica, Massachusetts deliver Amazon packages found in middle of the road
Police in Billerica, Massachusetts delivered more than a dozen Amazon packages that have been found on the road. It happened on two occasions in just as many weeks.
It started the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Billerica Police Officer Sam Hawkes was making his rounds near the Market Basket on Boston Road when he drove up on eight Amazon packages laying in the middle of the road.
Officers fill cruisers with packages
Instead of moving them off the street or throwing them away, Officer Hawkes called in back up. He and his fellow officers filled the back of two cruisers and hand delivered the packages themselves.
"They were in the middle of the road, so I got out thinking they were trash and [thought about] just pushing them closer to the dumpsters there. But then I found out they were full packages with orders inside," said Hawkes. "I didn't want to just leave them. There was nobody around. No cameras to help see what happened back there. That was the first thing we were looking for."
One of those packages belonged to John Thomas's wife. He was watching a football game on TV last week when he got a knock at the door. To his surprise, Billerica police officers were on the other side. "I walked out to get it, and I was like oh boy what happened now," Thomas joked. "[My wife] came down and I said the police are here for you. I made a joke of it, and she said, yeah that's my package."
Cut to this week when officers found another eight Amazon packages laying on the side of Salem Road on the other side of town. The officer who found those packages provided the same courtesy and hand delivered the packages to their rightful owners.
Amazon said they were working with the Billerica Police Department on this but would not comment further.
Officer Tom Cranson helped pick up some of the packages off the road. "We all have to help each other out," said Officer Cranson. "It is obviously stressful during the holidays so just to get people's packages back was a huge stress reliever for everybody."
Their efforts go above and beyond for the people whose deliveries were saved. "They have a lot of other things to do besides delivering packages, and I was very appreciative," said Thomas.