CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Actress Angie Harmon has filed a lawsuit against Instacart and one of its former shoppers, who she accuses of fatally shooting her family’s dog while making a delivery to her North Carolina home earlier this year.
Harmon, 51, filed the lawsuit last week in Mecklenburg County, where she lives with her three daughters. The family’s beagle mix, Oliver, was killed March 30 after the shopper delivered groceries Harmon had ordered in preparation for the next day, which was Easter Sunday.
The shopper told authorities he shot the dog in self-defense after it tried to bite him.
Though no criminal charges were filed against the man, WSOC-TV in Charlotte reported that he was immediately suspended from the Instacart platform. He was later banned.
Harmon, who is known for her work on TV series “Law and Order” and “Rizzoli and Isles,” spoke out about the ordeal for the first time on Wednesday.
“It’s so unfathomable to think that there is somebody in your front driveway that just fired a gun,” Harmon told ABC News. “And you don’t ever forget that sound.
“I’ve played law enforcement for 30 years. It’s just so different.”
Watch Harmon’s interview below.
Harmon said she had put in a grocery delivery order earlier in the day March 30 and had been communicating with the shopper via the Instacart app.
“It looked like we were talking to a middle-aged, slightly older woman named Merle, who was talking to me about my order,” Harmon told ABC News. “And that’s not who showed up at my house.”
Later that day, Harmon was upstairs filling some squirrel feeders when the shopper arrived with her order. The lawsuit describes the shopper as a “tall and intimidating younger man,” according to The Associated Press.
Harmon alleges that she heard a gunshot and raced outside to find Oliver mortally wounded and the man putting a gun into the front of his pants.
Two of Harmon’s children, daughters Avery, 18, and Emery, 15, apparently witnessed the shooting.
“I heard Emery screaming, my youngest, Emery, I just heard her say, ‘Did you just shoot my dog?’” Harmon told ABC News.
The shopper admitted that he shot the animal.
“I think we were in such shock,” Harmon said. “I was screaming at Avery to call 911. And when I said that, (the driver) goes, he said, ‘No, I’m calling 911. I’ll do it.’”
Both the man and Harmon’s daughter placed calls to 911, WSOC reported.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officials told the news station at the time that the shooter told investigators the dog attacked him as he delivered Harmon’s groceries. Another dog was present at the home but did not attack, authorities said.
In an Instagram post mourning Oliver, Harmon said her doorbell camera was being charged inside the house and did not capture footage of the shooting. She disputed the man’s allegations of an attack.
“(The shopper) did not have a scratch or bite on him, nor were his pants torn,” Harmon wrote.
She said her family was traumatized and devastated by the loss of their dog, who she and her daughters said had never been aggressive to delivery drivers. A necropsy performed on Oliver showed no indications that he’d bitten anyone, she told ABC News.
Harmon said she believes Instacart is “beyond responsible” for the shooting.
The AP reported that Harmon’s lawsuit accuses both Instacart and the shopper of trespassing, gross negligence, invasion of privacy and the infliction of emotional distress.
Instacart stated that it runs comprehensive background checks on all of its shoppers, who are prohibited from carrying weapons while working. The company also requires shoppers to periodically take photos of themselves to ensure that the shopper matches the photo the company has on file.
“Our hearts continue to be with Ms. Harmon and her family following this disturbing incident,” Instacart said in a statement. “While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we have no tolerance for violence of any kind, and the shopper account has been permanently deactivated from our platform.”
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