Police in southern New Jersey served the community in more ways than one Sunday when officers stepped in to complete a food delivery after arresting a DoorDash driver during a traffic stop.
The incident happened in Washington Township when an officer on routine patrol stopped a vehicle near a local high school for a traffic violation, according to police. During the stop, the officer discovered the driver had outstanding warrants from another county and placed him under arrest.
Authorities did not release the driver’s identity or provide details about the warrants.
While being taken into custody, the driver told officers he was in the middle of delivering two DoorDash orders that were still in his car. Instead of leaving the deliveries unfinished, Sgt. Matt Barnett and Officer Mike Scheer decided to complete the job themselves.
Police body camera stills and Ring doorbell camera footage released by the department on Facebook show the pair arriving at the customer’s home and delivering food to shocked residents.
“I thought something happened. Oh my God, I got so scared,” one of the grateful recipients said.
“Arrested your driver, but, yeah, we delivered your food,” one of the officers explained.
The department also apologized to the woman in the Facebook post, acknowledging their unexpected visit may have spooked her.
“And to the resident who answered the door, we are sorry for the surprise and for startling you! We hope lunch was still hot,” officers wrote.
“Just another day serving the Washington Township community… in more ways than one.,” they added.
The Independent has contacted DoorDash for comment.
Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik said he’s witnessed many different situations and scenarios in his career, but this one was unusual for the department.
“I never heard of anything like that in the South Jersey area. It’s sort of a first for us here in Washington Township, definitely,” Gurcsik told WPVI.
A similar situation occurred last year in New Mexico when a motorcycle officer finished a DoorDash delivery after arresting the driver during a traffic stop. The driver, who had been delivering a Chick-fil-A order through DoorDash, was arrested for failing to address an insurance ticket, officers told the customer.
Officers in Tempe, Arizona, also stepped in to complete a GrubHub order in July, delivering a pizza to a surprised customer as the driver was arrested in a traffic stop.
