For 36-year-old Tara Plum, life in Coons Rapids, Minnesota, is not always easy. Despite being a liberal in a conservative region of the nation, the purple-haired Plum has been able to work as a driver for Instacart, which entails shopping in various stores for customers who pay her to do so.
However, Plum wrote “F*** the police” on the receipt and smashed the grocery bags with her car in response to seeing a pro-police Blue Lives Matter flag in the driveway of her subsequent delivery.
The incident reportedly took place in Blaine, Minnesota. According to a Facebook post written by a relative, the elderly couple ordered a “carefully budgeted” $50 of groceries to be delivered to their home.
“This past year has been a rollercoaster of heartache and big life changes for them. Money is tight. Vulnerability is high,” wrote Amber Gray.
Nothing was amiss until they went outside to meet the driver, Tara, for fear that she might struggle with her vehicle in their snow-covered driveway. When they opened the front door, Tara yelled at them to check their Christmas wreath while rocking her vehicle back and forth in the driveway.
Tara’s vulgar note is seen here in this picture posted to Facebook. At first, the couple thought she might have been stuck, but then they read the note she had allegedly written on their receipt: “Instacart doesn’t pay employees sry [sic] find another slave f– the police racist pigs.”
Upon looking for their groceries, they found them smashed up in the driveway. All because of their yard sign that reads “thank you Blaine P.D.”
“These people are two of the most beautiful, generous, loving souls I’ve ever known,” Gray said. “Tara probably doesn’t know how carefully those $50 in groceries were budgeted for. Or how devastating the recent medical diagnosis has been. Or how scared and vulnerable her vile act of hatred made them feel.”
“Supporting law enforcement doesn’t make you a racist. And it absolutely doesn’t give anyone the right to destroy your things or shatter your sense of safety.”
Police in Blaine is still looking into the incident in the meantime.
Captain Mark Boerboom said, “We would have to prove the act was committed based on the victim’s perceived race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, or national origin.”
However, in a Facebook post, Plum also addressed the citation, she said, “Disorderly conduct and property damage for running over Instacart groceries that I wasn’t paid to deliver, and the customer got reimbursed by Instacart, but somehow I damaged their property that they weren’t getting because the delivery person and shopper of the order didn’t get f***ing paid, I could have just left, but no. I had to do that.”
Instacart then released a statement saying it was “appalled by the unacceptable actions of this shopper, who has been removed from the Instacart platform as a result.”
“We’ll continue to provide support to the impacted customers and will also work directly with local law enforcement on any investigations into this matter.”
In an email to The Pioneer Press, Plum wrote, “I understand that what I did was wrong, and I’m sorry for my actions, I let my anger get the best of me, and I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on innocent people. This was a harsh reminder that I need to take responsibility for my actions and be more mature.”
Sources: Awm, Bizpacreview, Startribune
