Pizza Hut Driver Claims Demotion Over Self-Defense

GLEN BURNIE, Md. (AP) -- A Pizza Hut employee says he was demoted from delivery driver to kitchen employee after defending himself while on the job.

The Baltimore Sun reports Sam Swicegood says he was demoted after a Dec. 14 incident in Glen Burnie where he used a fiberglass stake he had hidden in his sleeve to defend himself from a group of boys attempting to rob him. Police ultimately arrested three teens.

Swicegood says he was told he had violated the company's no weapons policy for drivers and was reassigned to a lower paid kitchen position. He says his shifts were also cut.

A Pizza Hut spokesman says Swicegood wasn't demoted and his hours weren't reduced.

Swicegood says he began carrying the stake after hearing about another pizza deliveryman who was robbed.

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