Ohio Postal Worker Called Gay Couple ‘F*ggots,’ Threatened to Stop Delivering Their Mail
An Ohio postal worker is accused of spewing homophobic slurs at a gay couple and telling them the Post Office wasn’t going to deliver mail to their address anymore.
Michael Coward was heading to a party with his fiance, Michael Vaughn, Tuesday night, when he saw the mail had been put in his mailbox. The mail carrier was still filling other boxes, though, and when Coward grabbed his mail, he says the worker reacted negatively because he hadn’t waited until she was done.
They started arguing and the postal employee allegedly called him a “f*ggot.”
“And then she just kept going on and on and on about me and my fiance being white f*ggots,” he told 10 TV.
“Yeah, not just f*ggots,” Vaughn added. “White [expletives].”
That’s when Coward began filming the encounter with his phone. “You’ve called me a f*ggot at least 10 times,” he tells the unnamed worker. She replies “I called you what you are.” The couple say she also took their names off their mailbox and said they’d never get mail again.
“You’re telling us that you’re not going to deliver our mail because we’re quote-end-quote ‘white f*ggots?’” Vaughn asks her. “I don’t think that’s how that works.” Vaughn and Coward filed a police report that night.
The United States Postal Service says it is investigating the incident, which it found “very concerning.”
“These actions – if true – are not consistent with and don’t represent the values of the Postal Service organization and will not be tolerated. You can be assured that this alleged incident is being fully investigated and that the Postal Service will take whatever action is appropriate.”
Customers may report concerns and complaints to the United States Postal Service by calling 1 800-275-8777.
Earlier this month, a postal worker in Kinsman, Ohio, was accused of stealing cash and gift cards from the mail of customers in nearby Sharpsville, Pennsylvania.
