The CEO of a backpack manufacturer is facing backlash following reports that he tipped authorities off to the bag used by the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Peak Design founder and boss Peter Dering told The New York Times on December 5 that he had contacted police as soon as he saw surveillance footage of the backpack worn by the masked killer and recognized it as one of his company’s.
“Of course, my instinct would be to do whatever is possible to help track this person down,” Dering said. He added that, if police asked for help, he would “check with his general counsel about what information he could release.”
Now, following Luigi Mangione’s arrest on December 9, the Peak Design boss has revealed that he and his staff are facing threats and accusations of being a “snitch” or “rat” due to his cooperation with authorities.
“The CEO of Peak wanted the bags serial number to rat the original owner info to the cops… won’t be buying nothing from y’all,” one person commented on one of Peak Design’s Instagram posts.
Another added: “They’ll expose your data. CEO snitch.”
Other users took issue with the backpacks having serial numbers and claimed, without evidence, that the CEO had used the number to share information with police about Mangione before his arrest.
“What if somebody gave this to me as a gift and now I’m going to jail because they committed a crime, because you wanted to tell somebody that was my backpack? That is very scary,” one TikTok user wrote.
“Nobody cares! Boycott Peak Design!” another added.
Dering debunked the claims about the serial number as “misinformation.”
“We take our customer privacy seriously. There is misinformation being shared on social media that has triggered many serious threats for the safety of not only me, but our employees as well,” Dering said in a statement Friday.
In another statement, which Axios reported was also emailed to customers, added: “Peak Design has not provided customer information to the police and would only do so under the order of a subpoena.
“We cannot associate a product serial number with a customer unless that customer has voluntarily registered their product on our site.”
During the five-day manhunt, the NYPD found the gray backpack nestled between two boulders in Central Park. It contained two items: a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and Monopoly money.
Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9 and charged with second-degree murder.
He continues to fight his extradition to New York.
The Independent has contacted the NYPD for more information.
