Law & Order actor Angie Harmon has sued Instacart and the delivery driver who allegedly shot one of her dogs dead at her home in North Carolina in late March.
Harmon, 51, detailed the incident in an Instagram post last month, claiming that a man delivering groceries for Instacart “shot and killed our precious [dog] Oliver”.
Now, more than a month later, the Rizzoli & Isles alum has filed a lawsuit against the grocery delivery company and the driver for alleged trespassing, conversion, negligence, negligent supervision/hiring, invasion of privacy and negligent misrepresentation.
According to the suit, seen by People, Harmon had scheduled groceries from a chain in Charlotte, North Carolina, to be delivered to her home on 30 March.
Harmon had been messaging with the delivery driver – identified as Christopher Anthoney Reid in the suit – whose profile picture allegedly depicted an older woman by the name of “Merle”.
“Reid was impersonating Merle on the Instacart app”, the documents read. It adds that Harmon had “no idea she had been communicating” with Reid, who is described as a “tall and intimidating younger man”.
When Reid arrived at the house, the suit says Harmon “heard what sounded like a gun shot”.
And with her children in the backyard at the time, Harmon was “terrified for her children’s safety”, so she “immediately ran downstairs to determine the source” of the noise, the suit says.
Once outside, Harmon says she saw Reid as he “was placing a gun in the front of his pants”. “Looking to the side, she saw that her beloved dog, Oliver, was shot. Although shot, Oliver was still alive.”
She then rushed her dog to the vet, where it later died.
At the time, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department told The Independent that Reid told officers that he shot the dog in self-defence after it had attacked him when he arrived at the home.
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The filing, however, argues that Reid was “not injured” or “seriously threatened” by the dog and had “ample opportunity” to leave the premises without shooting it.
Harmon is seeking over $25,000 in damages.
The Independent approached Instacart for comment at the time, with the company stating it had suspended the driver.
“We were deeply saddened and disturbed to hear about this incident. We have no tolerance for violence of any kind,” a spokesperson said. “We have been in direct contact with the customer and are cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation.”
In a new statement shared with People, Instacart said: “Our hearts continue to be with Ms Harmon and her family following this disturbing incident.
“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.”
