Established since 1994
Risky Business
by: Johnelle Rodriguez
It’s dangerous.
Think about it. Imagine you’re home alone and someone you don’t know approaches your front door and starts to knock. The average person will either answer the door with caution or will ignore the knocks if he or she does not know the person; I’d probably do the latter. If it’s dark out, even worse.
Being a process server is a risky job that comes with its own set of hazards.
Just two years ago, a 36-year-old process server was killed from an attack by several dogs (Dangers of Process Serving Hit Home in Texas). After she made an attempt at a rural location, she was walking back to her car, which was parked on the road, and was mauled.
Her body was not discovered for several hours, when the caretaker of the dogs finally arrived and called the police.
Another situation in 2016 highlights a sheriff who was shot and killed when serving eviction papers to a man (Deputy killed, 2 deputies injured, serving eviction notice in Park County; Suspect shot and killed). Two other deputies accompanying him were also shot but survived. The recipient of the eviction was known to authorities and had even posted on Facebook that the cops wanted him dead.
Therefore, it helps to know who you are serving. Know if this person has a criminal history. Know whether there is a possibility that this person is going to be hostile toward you. If something happens, try to diffuse the situation as quickly as possible.
Bob has had guns pulled on him. There was one instance where if he had not disarmed someone, he would have gotten shot.
Service was taking place with out-of-state papers at an office in Miami-Dade County. Bob had a U.S. Marshal with him along with another process server. The marshal was there to repossess John Doe’s boat. The other process server was there to make sure things went smoothly.
They were taking precaution.
When they entered the office, they saw the Mr. Doe behind his desk, talking on the phone. The receptionist was hostile toward Bob and the two individuals with him. She told them the guy they were looking for was not in and that she didn’t want them in the office. She told them to leave.
The marshal identified himself with his credentials. At this time, Bob went into the office and identified himself as an officer of the court. Mr. Doe reached over to his left-hand side into a duffel bag, and Bob could immediately tell he was pulling out a gun. Mr. Doe racked a round into the chamber, and as soon as Bob saw this, he went over the desk and knocked over the chair.
Mind you, Bob is a tall guy, well over six feet. So his height was to his advantage.
Bob stood on Mr. Doe’s hand that was holding the gun, and then the marshal ran in and put Mr. Doe in handcuffs.
“The man lost his boat and lost his freedom,” Bob said.
Aside from dealing with guns, Bob has had people hit him with their cars and throw hot coffee on his face.
As crazy as all of this may sound to us, process servers can face this sort of thing every day; it is the norm. People may get up in their faces and will sometimes put hands on them. And this is considered assault. Sometimes, the local authorities step in and come to the scene in assistance.
However, process servers aren’t well liked by a lot of different agencies, especially sheriff’s departments, since they take a lot of work off their hands.
According to Florida Statues, papers can be served 24 hours a day, 6 days a week (Sundays are not included). Depending on the time of year, when it starts to get dark outside earlier, process servers may have a certain cut-off time when they will stop attempting papers. If not, they run the risk of people becoming afraid. For instance, a single mother most likely would not open the door during later hours of the evening.
However, there have been instances where service has had to take place in the middle of the night because that’s the only time the recipient was accessible. There was once a gentleman, John Smith, who was here from the Carolinas, on the beach. The client was with Bob, and they later discovered Mr. Smith was hiding in the dumpster at the back of the hotel parking lot. They knew Mr. Smith only went out at night and would return to the hotel around 1:30, 2:00 in the morning. So he got served at this hour.
All this being said, process servers accept their duty with a grain of salt. All they can do is to be prepared and use proper judgment with each service. From the outside, we don’t see all the dangers process servers face. They are to be highly respected.
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