Governor questioned over Indiana’s probe of Amazon death

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s governor is facing calls from Democrats to explain his role in Amazon being cleared of responsibility for a warehouse worker’s death despite initial findings of major safety violations.

Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb denies any involvement in the state’s investigation of the 2017 death at Amazon’s Plainfield warehouse.

The news outlet Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting reported Monday that a safety inspector ordered a $28,000 fine against Amazon, concluding it didn’t provide enough training before a forklift fatally crushed 59-year-old Phillip Lee Terry. It cites a recording the inspector made in which his boss tells Amazon officials how to shift the blame to “employee misconduct.”

The death investigation happened while the Holcomb administration was bidding on Amazon’s planned second headquarters project.

State Democratic Party Chairman John Zody says such actions would be a “disturbing abandonment” of workers.