CHICAGO (WLS) — The union for postal police said they were once 2,700 members strong. Now, there are about 400 officers who say they are banned from patrolling streets, and relegated to protecting only postal facilities.
Chicago’s Postal Inspector in Charge said the mission of the postal police remains the same: protect employees, customers and property.
“In any situation where someone takes something from you, you feel violated,” retired mail carrier Alvin Charleston said.
He recalled being robbed of his mail keys on his Chicago route.
“As he approached me he said give me your keys, and that’s when he showed me the weapon he had,” he said.
“So those keys. They’re called arrow keys, and they open up all blue collection boxes, all apartment panels, cluster boxes in a given zip code,” said Frank Albergo, president of the Postal Police Officers Association.
