The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson took over the news for days following the crime. Some keen-eyed news hounds quickly recognized the alleged killer’s backpack as a product from the outdoor brand Peak Design. It was a version of its Everyday Pack that the brand had stopped selling in 2019.
When Peak Design’s founder, Peter Dering, was alerted to the revelation, he reached out to the NYPD to pass along the information.
As a result, there was online backlash against Peak Design across multiple social media platforms. Some users called Dering a “snitch” and slammed Peak Design as a “trash brand.” Others voiced serious concerns over their own privacy as customers of Peak Design.
“Nobody wants you to save the day,” one TikTok user said in a post. “You didn’t have to tell anybody about anything.”
In response, Dering released an official statement from the company on Dec. 13, 2024. In it, Dering reassured customers Peak Design does not associate product serial numbers with customer identities without their consent.
Read Dering’s full statement below.
Hi everyone,
You may be aware that an Everyday Backpack made by Peak Design was worn during the New York City shooting last week. Some of you have asked what our policies are around customer privacy, so I wanted to lay that out:
- Peak Design has not provided customer information to the police and would only do so under the order of a subpoena.
- We cannot associate a product serial number with a customer unless that customer has voluntarily registered their product on our site.
- Serializing our products allows us to track product issues and in some cases quarantine stock if a defect is found.
- The serial numbers on our V1 Everyday Backpacks were not unique or identifying. They were lot numbers used to track batch production units. We did not implement unique serial numbers until V2 iterations of our Everyday Backpack.
- If you do choose to register a Peak Design product, and it is lost or stolen, you can reach out to our Customer Service team and have your registration erased, so the bag is not traceable back to you.
We take our customer privacy seriously.
— Peter Dering
