Posted on 01/14/2015 9:54:03 PM PST by Lexinom
A Papa John's delivery driver in Dekalb County, Georgia is worried that she might lose her job for defending her life earlier this week against a pair of armed robbers.
When a woman delivering pizzas in DeKalb County was ordered to the ground by a man with a gun, she fired back. Armed with her own gun, she shot the man Sunday night, according to police. The employee of a Columbia Drive Papa John’s wasn’t injured, her mother told Channel 2 Action News. But the woman is worried the incident could get her fired because she carried her gun for protection. A suspect, Donquaz Devon Stevenson, was found nearby with a gunshot wound to his face, police told Channel 2. Stevenson, 24, of a Decatur address, was arrested and charged with armed robbery, DeKalb jail records showed.
Armed robber Donquaz Devon Stevenson is in jail, awaiting trial, as he should be. His accomplice is still on the loose. Unfortunately, the woman who survived this armed ambush with her life is more than likely going to lose her job unless Papa John's has recently changed a long-running policy that forbids employees from being armed for their own self-defense. Though being a food delivery driver is one of the ten most dangerous jobs in the United States, companies like Papa John's have done the cold, hard analysis and have determined that is is cheaper to deal with drivers injured or killed in robberies than it is to deal with the possibility of litigation if one of their employees shoots someone and the company's policies allowed them to be armed. As a practical matter, many companies have this official policy against their drivers carrying firearms for self-defense on the corporate level, while at the local level, franchise owners and store managers tend to take a "don't ask/don't tell" approach, knowing the hazards of the job. Unfortunately, when drivers are then forced to use their weapons, franchise owners and store managers have little choice but to fire them to be in compliance with corporate policies written to protect the bottom line, not the lives of employees. This woman did what she had to do to save her life, which is far more important than any job. Perhaps it's time to consider a federal law shielding employers against lawsuits if their delivery drivers are forced to use firearms in self-defense.
Plus, that Papa John's dude is just a little bit too pleased with himself... Domino's or the local outfit if it comes down to it.
What they’ll do is fire the lady and pay her some shushup money. The legal and bean counting departments will never condone people running around armed, even in Georgia.
Your life or your job young lady...which do you prefer to keep?
I suspect you already know the answer...good shooting regardless.
And if they do fire you, I wish you the best in your life AFTER papa john’s and I will NEVER purchase a PJ’s product in solidarity with your decision to protect your life over following some idiotic company policy.
Donquaz Devon Svenson would make him Swedish, as it is, he’s more likely English or Scottish.
From what I’ve seen, the local/regional pizza places are ALWAYS much better than the national chains. They tend to have people cooking that really know what they’re doing, and often have real brick ovens. Usually better menus and prices too.
I’m not a lawyer, but I am familiar with the laws involved here from a business standpoint.
The situation driving the no-gun policies is even worse than you state (ie “marginal cases”.
In reality, EVERY case where a delivery person defends themselves with a gun, even if justified, is going to generate a lawsuit by the ventilated thug (or, more likely, the thug’s survivors).
Given the lesser evidentiary standards, and decisional criteria for civil juries, plus the established trend of civil juries to throw out the law and the evidence a rule based on emotion (he was such a good boy! He was turning his life around! He didn’t deserve to die for falling back into crime and attempting armed robbery!!!) corporations, and more importantly their insurors, are looking at multimillion dollar judgement against them in EVERY case where a driver uses armed and deadly force to defend themselves.
Root cause analysis shows THAT’S what’s really driving these corporate policies. I can’t fault the corporations and their insurors for mandating them. Nor can I fault the drivers for ignoring them and arming themselves.
“...He couldn’t close his door fast enough.”
That’s awesome! I can only imagine the look on the dirtbag’s face, LOL.
It worked. Due to social media pressure, Papa John’s will not be firing this employee and will even provide for counselling for her. See the update at the article link.
She will keep her job, and Papa John’s will provide for some post-trauma counselling...
Great, that’s good news, thanks for the update.
Papa Johns is getting creamed on their Facebook page by supporters of the delivery gal’s right to defend herself.
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