July 23, 2008
Yuengling-Delivering Driver Fired After Random Act of Violence
Earlier this week Yuengling wasn't being very helpful in letting Brad Walsh, who was physically assaulted by a truck driver delivering their product, know who to contact to file a complaint. When we asked the company what company hired the driver so they could be contacted for a quote, they also refused to disclose any information. However, Walsh has let us know that he finally got a hold of the distributor, and the driver has been fired. He wrote on his blog last night: "After the distributor was notified of the incident (albeit nearly a week after the incident occurred and was reported to Yuengling, and merely a matter of hours after the story was reported by several news sources) they called the driver and his union in to discuss. I have been told that the driver was terminated."
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It's really quite incorrect to continue to identify this individual as a "Yuengling driver".
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So, we did it?
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Somehow this leaves me sad. Maybe the guy deserved it and he is a hot head a-hole. Or maybe he just found out his wife is sleeping with the mailman and he simple lost it.
I'd love to know is he has a history of losing his temper.
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I didn't know there was a beer truck union but I should have expected it. those routes are profitable. I would think violence is not something that's above them. or at least intimidation.
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The driver was terminated? Holy smokes all he did was give a beating on the guy for mouthing off probably, but to kill him? Isn't that a bit harsh?
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@FrankMartin
Who cares? Wouldn't you expect to get fired from your job if you punched some random person? I would. The guy can always get a new job driving for somebody else.
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I don't think it's too harsh--I don't know too many professions outside of professional wrestling where a few verbal jabs justify a beating.
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I'm surprised Yuengling were so unhelpful. I guess they don't want people to buy their beer.
What we want to know now is: was the a-hole prosecuted or are the police too busy beating up bike riders and old ladies?
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Wait a minute. This guy was physically assaulted on the street? Why didn't he call 911? The "Yuengling driver" deserved what he got, and more. He should have been prosecuted for assault, and possible for a bias crime. And if the victim had called the cops instead of the freaking beer distributor that might have happened.
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[3] There's no justification for what the driver did. You can't say he's allowed to hit someone just because he had a bad day. He's lucky he wasn't arrested for assault and battery.
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THe victim called the cops. See the original post.
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drchadwick: if you read what Walsh wrote about his own experience, he DID call the police, and file a police report.
bxbrian: Walsh insists multiple times on his blog that there was no verbal provocation whatsoever, nothing more than him and others throwing their hands in the air when they almost got hit by the driver in the first place.
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Not sure the guy needed a gaybashing charge, but he sure deserves one for assault. Having a bad day is no excuse for beating down someone on the street. Unfortunately, I've seen way too many drivers get all hot and bothered over nothing. Seems to come with the territory as far as truck drivers are concerned.
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@della
You're right--that supports my opinion even more. Totally uncalled for on the driver's part.
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handsomedevil/spiritof76
Just said it leaves me sad. Sad most of all about Brad being assualted. I didn't mean to condone violence, because I agree the drivers actions were totally unacceptable. And he deserved to be punished, and being fired seems right.
That said I'm also sad because there will be no forward progress after this. I doubt the driver will learn his lesson. Actually I bet he is more angry and homophobic than ever. I also doubt his driving will improve. So that makes me sad.
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Im sad, sad, sad.
You sure are.
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#13--he called a gay man a "faggot" and a "bitch" and beat the crap out of him. How is this not a hate-crime?
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"Or maybe he just found out his wife is sleeping with the mailman and he simple lost it."
No matter. You have to control yourself. We're living in a SOCIETY!
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How does Yuengling get a load of bad publicity whereas the distribution company that the guy ACTUALLY WORKS FOR doesn't even get named?
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Bingosbuddy
I'm over it. Must be the weather. thanks for the concern.
robingee
I agree totally. But I've lost my temper before, never lashed out violently like the driver (unless you count childhood fights with brothers, and I for one don't). So I guess my point was that we all have our limits and sometimes we take our anger out on the wrong people. Wrong for sure, but I was coming from the turn the other cheek, benefit of the doubt point of view. stuff.
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I agree to a point, citizenerased, but if the reporting is correct, yuengling was dragging their feet like crazy while people were trying to get this driver's info.
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Yuengling wasn't being very helpful ...
Possibly because they couldn't know who it was. And because it is not wise to answer questions about your business and distributors to random strangers who just happen to call and claim being assualted.
One other thing, these distributors have different brands painted on their truck. Just because Yuengling was painted on this truck does NOT mean that he was delivering Yuengling beer that day.
So it is very presumptuous to write "Yuengling-Delivering Driver". And this was not a "random act of violence".
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#8- I sincerely hope the cops are NEVER too busy to beat up cyclists.
And I'm not joking, either.
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oooh, you live up to your name! Edgy!
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I love it when the cops beat up cyclists.
I fucking hate those guys. I really do want to hit them with my car when I'm riding around the city.
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Tell me what you drive and your plate number so I know which car to key as I'm passing by.
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1. The driver was located and was fired. Right result.
2. The driver worked for a distributor, not for Yuengling.
3. It didn't sound like the driver "beat the crap" out of Walsh. Walsh said he was hit on the jaw; one punch. That doesn't justify the attack, but it should be characterized for what it was.
4. There was almost certainly some exchange that led up to this. We have Walsh's account, claiming he didn't do anything but put his hands in the air after almost being hit by the truck. According to Walsh, this innocent act resulted in the truck driver parking the truck, leaving the vehicle, chasing Walsh down the street, called him names, and hitting him. That's pretty incredible. It seems much more likely that the victim and the driver exchanged words before the attack. Again, whatever provocation there was doesn't justify the attack, but it seems like Walsh isn't giving us the whole story.
5. Walsh did call the police, and gave them a description of the truck and provided the plate number. Apparently - and understandably - Walsh was frustrated by the fact that after 5 days, nothing had happened. Seems like if anyone is at fault here, it's the police for the slow response time.
6. There is nothing to indicate that Yuengling did anything wrong, failed to cooperate with the police, or acted unreasonably. They got a call from someone who claimed that one of their drivers hit him. From a legal perspective, a company would not be advised to just hand out personal information about their employees. On top of that, the driver wasn't their employee, but was employed by a distributer.
7. According to Walsh, the company representatives were polite and apologetic and told him that “Yuengling does not have any company drivers that go into Manhattan. The truck you saw that had the Yuengling logo on it does not belong to the company and the person driving this truck is not an employee of the company.”
8. In his original post, Walsh wrote:
"Dozens of people saw this happen to me... and everyone ignored it and moved along. ... This is why I hate when people tell me I'm not on the shit side of a new Civil Rights Movement and/or that gays have basically achieved equality in 2008."
It doesn't seem clear that the driver attacked Walsh because of his sexuality. Seems more like there was a verbal exhange between the two, which escalated, which resulted in name calling and being socked in the jaw. Walsh's broad statement, taking an altercation that might happen to anyone and broadly attaching it to civil rights and equality issues, seems a bit of a stretch.
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It's an interesting story -- people should read Walsh's blog and form their own conclusions. From what I read, I'd hesitate to call this a hate crime, and I don't think Yuengling did anything wrong. I think the real issue is that the cops took more than a couple of days to investigate and arrest the driver, despite having the license plate and description. Anyway, the driver was fired, and rightly so. His termination would have no impact on whether or not criminal charges are brought.
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The NYPD is just amazing. If you get pulled over for running a redlight they punch your plate number into the computer and in a minute they know if you were fined for taking a piss on a park bench in Wichita, Kansas in April of 2001, but they can't trace this guy down for five days. What gives with those people?
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to eyekantspel: i did read all of what walsh wrote, but even you don't seem to believe it. he wrote: "There are also some people who think I must be exaggerating or leaving something out, because the story doesn't make sense. Well, no... the story doesn't make sense. That's the entire point. The guy was totally irrational, violent, crazy, and scary. Everything I have written about this incident across both blog posts is true as presented, and I have included everything I remember."
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Terminated!
Damn, those Unions don't mess around....I wonder if they
gave him a Yuengling before his execution.
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Yeungling had an opportunity not only to protect their brand (it was on the side of that truck), but to burnish it and they dropped the ball. The distributor finally did the right thing but too late to gain any sympathy for what their driver did to them. Hate crime or no, what that driver did was disgusting and no doubt, that person will soon get right back into hot water. I'm struggling to find a happy ending here.
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@snoopy
They terminated him by slowly lowering him into a vat of hot beer. :D
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The Yeungling logo on the truck was nothing more than an advertisement for one of the brands the distributor carries. It's possible there wasn't even any Yeungling in the truck at the time. So "Yeungling-delivering" may or may not be accurate.
Note to anyone who may have a scrap with a delivery truck driver in the future: ignore the logo on the side of the truck. The information you want is what's printed on the cab doors. That's where the operator of the truck will usually be identified.
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Have you read this dudes blog? Do you for a minute think that he kept his mouth shut?
The other thing that doesn't make sense to me is that this Brad guy is calling it a hate crime, which could only happen if the truck driver knew or suspect that Brad Walsh was gay. How did the truck driver even have a hint that Brad was gay if he kept is mouth shut the whole time.
I don't think there is any reason to assault anyone, and I certainly feel for Brad, but his story simply does not wash.
If he wants to call it a hate crime - he opened his mouth. He said something. The truck drive had to have an indication.
If he didn't open his mouth, then the truck driver simply likes to use that word to insult people - and it's not a hate crime.