Posted on 08/01/2009 11:53:24 AM PDT by Robwin
SEATTLE — A Seattle bank teller has lost his job because he ran down a would-be bank robber and held him until police arrived.
Jim Nicholson, who worked at a Key Bank branch, says he understands the bank's policy that employees comply with robbery demands and avoid dangerous confrontations. But he tells The Seattle Times that his instincts took over when the man demanded money during the Tuesday incident.
Nicholson says he tried to grab the man, then chased him several blocks before knocking him down with help from a passer-by. The man turned out to be unarmed.
The 30-year-old Nicholson was fired Thursday. Key Bank officials declined to comment, but Seattle police and the FBI say they advise tellers against acting against robbers. Instead, police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb says, they should be good witnesses and comply with demands unless their personal safety is in jeopardy.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
ping
His employer has denied him his First Amendment rights.
I hope Nicholson was not racial profiling.... in his haste to catch the bank robber..
Be a Zero instead of a Hero!! Welcome to America, 2009!!!
This guy should:
Sue the bank, in court!
Put this item on his resume, and proudly apply at a few other banks!
Well look, it IS, after all, SEATTLE, home of Starbucks, Microsoft and that bastion of love and peace and all that and, well, darn it, that holdup guy probably had a lousy family life, raised by conservatives and all and, gee whiz, we can all marvel at his ambition he showed us all that he is worthy of our love and understanding so HOW DARE that teller knock him about so.
Well, you get the idea.
Yeah and give up all legal tools of self defense and call 911 if someone breaks into your home and is in your son's or daughters bedroom with intent to do harm too.
Kudos to this hero! We need more like him in America. When the person who stole my purse tried to use my ID in Bank of America, they refused to call police because of “bank policy”, and the person got away.
sounds like this might have been an inside job... and they got caught at it. This guy needs to sue their pants off!
You have very limited First Amendment rights with your employer - unless of course your employer is the US or state government.
From a public relations perspective, this was probably a stupid thing for Key Bank to do. But, from an HR and legal standpoint, they haven't broken any laws or violated anyone's civil rights.
Here’s a thought, though: Key Bank took TARP money - lots of it - so could they be considered a “state actor”?
I’d fire him too. I’m sure banks have extreme employee job insurance against injury due to robbery. And he wouldn’t have been covered in this case. Every bank has strict rules about giving robbers complete cooperation. First rule of violent crime...remove yourself from the situation ASAP, never stand and fight. What a goofus.
Not my area of law, but probably not. The government's relationship with Key Bank, to the extent that there is one, is limited to the scope of "creditor/borrower". There are some other banks or financial institutions where the government actually became a substantive shareholder, but that too is limited from a liability perspective, and as such, would be doubtful it would change the private employee/employer dynamic.
General Motors, on the other hand, is a completely different animal. I suspect enterprising attorneys could make an interesting case from that debacle.
Now there’s a Canadian response!
Fsck yourself, Sgt. Sean Whitcomb. The teller's personal safety was put in jeopardy the instant the robber walked in the door.
I knew a guy who chased down a robber and body slammed him.
The Navy rewarded him with a Navy Achievement Medal.
He should be fired from his job as a teller.
He should be rehired with a job in middle management.
Thanks for the explanation. Matches my non-lawyer understanding, but I wasn’t sure...
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