Current:Home > ContactAngie Harmon sues Instacart, delivery driver who allegedly shot dog Oliver -Triumph Financial Guides
Angie Harmon sues Instacart, delivery driver who allegedly shot dog Oliver
View
Date:2025-04-28 00:18:49
Angie Harmon is suing Instacart and the delivery driver who fatally shot her dog outside her home in Charlotte, North Carolina, in late March.
Harmon, 51, is suing the grocery delivery service and driver, named in the filing as Christopher Anthoney Reid, for alleged trespassing, conversion, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, court records obtained by USA TODAY Wednesday. The actress is suing Instacart for negligent hiring and negligent misrepresentation.
The "Rizzoli & Isles" star is seeking more than $25,000 in damages, but an exact amount would be determined at trial.
"Our hearts continue to be with Ms. Harmon and her family following this disturbing incident," Instacart said in a statement to USA TODAY Wednesday. "While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we have no tolerance for violence of any kind, and the shopper account has been permanently deactivated from our platform."
In an Instagram post on April 1, the former "Law & Order" star said a man delivering groceries for Instacart got out of his car and shot family pet Oliver aka "Ollie" the day before.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
"He shot our dog with my daughters and myself at home and just kept saying, 'Yeah, I shot your dog. Yeah I did,'" Harmon wrote at the time. "We are completely traumatized and beyond devastated at the loss of our beloved boy and family member."
Harmon said the man was not arrested after he claimed "self-defense" but added that "he did not have a scratch or bite on him nor were his pants torn."
Harmon says the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department closed the investigation after only interviewing Reid and before an animal autopsy could be completed, according to the suit.
'Completely traumatized':Angie Harmon says Instacart driver shot and killed her dog
The Instacart driver used the name and photo of an older woman named Merle, the lawsuit alleges. But instead of Merle, it was Reid who showed up at her home, a "tall and intimidating younger man."
The filing says her daughters, who are listed as parties in the suit, were playing in the backyard at the time of the delivery.
When Harmon ran to investigate what she believed was a gunshot, she alleges she saw Reid place a "gun in the front of his pants, potentially in his pant pocket." She then saw Oliver, shot but alive, the lawsuit says. The actress drove the dog to a veterinarian's office, where he later died.
Harmon says she did not give Reid "permission to interfere, interact with, or otherwise disturb Oliver."
Jon Stewartchokes up in emotional 'Daily Show' segment about his dog's death
Reid was "not injured" or "seriously threatened" by Harmon's dog and had "ample opportunity" to leave her property unharmed without shooting it, the lawsuit alleges.
For Instacart's part, Harmon's lawyers say the company provided "false information" to Harmon and "breached" its duty to "exercise ordinary and reasonable care in the screening, hiring, training, retention, and supervision of its employees."
Angie Harmon reflects on death of dog Oliver shot by Instacart driver
In a "Good Morning America" interview aired Wednesday, Harmon recalled the incident and the toll losing Oliver has taken on her family.
"It's so unfathomable to think that there is somebody in your front driveway that just fired a gun," Harmon told ABC News' Juju Chang. "And you don't ever forget that sound."
Her family was "in such shock," she said of her daughters' reactions. "I was screaming at Avery to call 911. And when I said that, (the delivery driver) goes, 'No, I'm calling 911. I'll do it.'"
The actress later said the animal autopsy performed on Oliver showed no signs of having bitten or violently attacked anyone.
Harmon's daughters, Emery, 15, and Avery Sehorn, 18, told Chang they never saw Oliver, a beagle mix, be aggressive toward delivery drivers.
"I order five Amazon packages a day, and it's never been an issue," Sehorn said.
Contributing: Anthony Robledo
veryGood! (518)
Related
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- 'I just want her to smile': Texas family struggles after pit bull attacks 2-year-old girl
- A bald eagle was shot and euthanized in Virginia. Now wildlife officials want answers.
- Judges free police officer suspected in killing of teen in suburban Paris that set off French riots
- Could Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft reunite? Maybe in Pro Football Hall of Fame's 2026 class
- The UK government wants to send migrants to Rwanda. Here’s why judges say it’s unlawful
- Pakistan and IMF reach preliminary deal for releasing $700 million from $3B bailout fund
- Texas Violated the Law with Lax Emissions Limits, Federal Court Rules
- Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
- Former NFL Player Devon Wylie Dead at 35
Ranking
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Would you let exterminators release 100 roaches inside your home for $2500?
- School board, over opposition, approves more than $700,000 in severance to outgoing superintendent
- Quincy Jones, Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper co-owners of historic Chicago theater
- Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
- The Roots co-founder Tariq Black Thought Trotter says art has been his saving grace: My salvation
- Blake Snell wins NL Cy Young Award, 7th pitcher to take home prize in both leagues
- Nicaragua’s exiled clergy and faithful in Miami keep up struggle for human rights at Mass
Recommendation
The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
'One in a million': Alabama woman pregnant with 2 babies in 2 uteruses due on Christmas
Biden announces 5 federal judicial nominees, including first Muslim American to U.S. circuit court if confirmed
Colorado hearing into whether Trump can remain on the state’s primary ballot wraps up
Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
Amtrak service north of NYC will resume after repairs to a parking garage over the tracks
Rwandan doctor Sosthene Munyemana on trial in France, accused of organizing torture, killings in 1994 genocide
Voting begins in Madagascar presidential election boycotted by most opposition leaders