A job she had done for a about a year had turned into a sudden race for her safety as a man wearing a bandanna over his nose and mouth began approaching her in the middle of the night.
“I was able to get in and lock the door,” Brooke said. “Then I just screamed as loud as I could.”
The man banged on the driver side of her car with a revolver and told her to get out, but he ran off after a few seconds. Brooke told police that she felt like this was an attempted robbery.
“It’s crazy to think about something happening like this when you’re just trying to deliver a pizza,” Brooke said.
Brooke’s harrowing experience began when she pulled into the Regency Apartments, 317 E. Eighth St., at about 1 a.m. Sunday.
Capt. Terry Autry with the Rome Police Department said the incident was the first case of a pizza delivery driver being attacked that they had seen in a while.
Maj. Mark Wallace with the Floyd County Police Department said he could not think of any reports of it happening in recent history.
Both agreed, however, that it is a dangerous job.
“Times are changing, and there are more and more reports of it happening across the country,” Wallace said.
“From a robbery standpoint, it’s just not worth it.”
Brooke, whose last name has been withheld at her request, said drivers who work at her restaurant never have more than $20 on them, and most transactions are done by credit card.
“We’re told to be observant and carry a flashlight,” Brooke said.
“Other than that, I think it would be good if we could talk to customers and make sure they meet us at an outside door and ask them to watch and make sure we get to our car after each delivery.”
According to the report filed with the Rome Police Department, a gold four-door sedan occupied by four men was blocking the entrance to the apartments when Brooke arrived.
The vehicle moved out of the way to let her in and then followed her into the complex, but parked on the other side of the parking lot.
After delivering her order, she noticed the man in the bandanna.
Brooke said she is fine now. She hopes to talk to her fellow drivers about extra safety precautions and wants the public to not take delivery workers for granted.
“If you get a pizza delivered, please remember to tip the driver,” Brooke said. “It’s a reward for us and makes it feel worth it.”
Sorry to say that I have direct experience in both of these matters. I know of 4 incidents in Rome involving violence towards pizza drivers. And I also know that I was charged with ridiculous felony charges one night, had my picture in the paper, even though the charges were dropped the very next morning. Yes..the Rome police will throw cards at the wall to see what sticks when the offender was peaceful. And when there is violence, turn tail and run, or significantly reduce the amount of threat there may be to the population. There are great cops in rome, and there are small, bureaucratic minded cops, and there are the sand kicked in face cops everywhere you go. I find it funny that when one is exonerated, the media, nor the police do anything to show it. I know this young woman personally that this happened to, and I know of 3 others involved in similar situations regarding food delivery. RPD needs to tell the truth, the population needs to not stand for it, and RPD needs to learn to go after real criminals.
-A former Rome resident.
If you want to be informed, it is all right here, on the internet, which is always right.
Let me get this straight. The police make up crimes to put your family in jail, but when real crimes happen they "outright lie" about it?
I shake my head in disbelief and understand why so many people are on food stamps.
If this woman said that her son had his jaw broken delivering pizzas, and we all know a woman was killed in Cedartown, the police are clearly lying in this article and the RNT should not let them get away with it.
A cops wife who screams about the low pay of cops is making fun of people on food stamps. That's rich. Sorry, I might have to do it someday but so far, knock wood, don't get food stamps.
Seriously, "$20; that's all I have, please don't rob me. Go hit the Kangaroo where they have lots of money." It doesn't cost all that much to get a hit of meth; much less than $20. The delivery guy is alone, it's dark, I've got a gun, I need that pipe filled, NOW. Who would you target?
Self protection is the only answer. You gotta be like a Pony Express rider and take care of yourself.
And don't forget that your life is worth more than your job.
Thank you for not allowing us to comment on the arrest reports. I can't sleep at night worrying about the feelings of the local thieves and child molesters.