A Florida USPS driver is facing criminal charges after police say he intentionally tried to run over a 10-year-old boy he mistakenly believed was a porch pirate.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the incident happened Dec. 27 in an Escambia County neighborhood. Authorities say the child was riding his electric scooter on Kingfisher Way while carrying a package that had been incorrectly delivered to his home.
Investigators said the boy noticed the package belonged to a neighbor and was taking it to the correct address when the postal worker confronted him.
“This isn’t just a simple, ‘Oops’ crash with a 10-year-old in the road,” FHP Capt. Jason King told local ABC affiliate WEAR. “This is an intentional act by a United States postal worker.”
Police identified the driver as 41-year-old William White Jr. According to a police report, White had dropped the package at the wrong house. When he later saw the child riding away with it, he allegedly assumed the boy was stealing it.
Authorities say White then purposely drove his USPS vehicle toward the child and ran over the scooter. The boy narrowly avoided being struck but injured his ankle while jumping out of the way.
“The child was able to get into the nearby yard prior to the scooter being hit,” the report states.
Police said White then got out of his truck, removed the scooter from underneath the vehicle, placed it inside the mail truck, and began driving away. The boy’s parents came outside and confronted him, at which point White allegedly yelled at the child before leaving the scene.
“It’s a 10-year-old on a scooter,” King said. “It’s not a normal porch pirate running up snatching packages. It’s amazing what a small conversation would do in a situation rather than jumping straight to force and escalating things way past where they should have been.”
White was questioned several days later and arrested. He is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, petit theft, and criminal mischief.
In a statement to the Pensacola News Journal, USPS officials said the Postal Inspection Service is investigating the incident alongside local law enforcement. The agency confirmed White has been employed since 2025 but declined to comment further on personnel matters.
White has since been released on a $5,500 bond and is awaiting his next court appearance.
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