Posted on 10/21/2009 11:46:36 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo
With her life perhaps just a pull of the trigger from ending, a St. Paul bank teller refused to hand over the cash.
But the gunman, rather than firing the black handgun he had aimed at the teller, fled on foot without a nickel more than he had when he entered the bank Tuesday afternoon.
The FBI describes the suspect who tried to rob the Cherokee State Bank at 607 Smith Av. S. as white, in his 30s, 5 feet 8 to 6 feet tall, with a slender to medium build. He was wearing a black coat, blue jeans, a white bandanna around his neck, and a red baseball cap. He was last seen running across Smith Avenue in front of the bank, located across the Mississippi River from downtown.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
However, if not, the remember these words: Those who chose safety over freedom deserve neither.
That girl had guts and she has my respect. For God sake, if a few more of us would have the common sense to just say NO instead of turning the other way, we would surely not have the commies raping every aspect of our wonderful country
There’s no guarantee that the robber wouldn’t shoot whatever her response. Praise the Lord that no one was hurt!
I suppose your respect for her would have been through the roof if he had blown her head off?
She should be fired. By not handing over the money, she opened up the bank to a potential hostage situation/shooting of innocent bystanders if the culprit is not in the mood for games. If you give them what they want, they will not hang around there, and law enforcement can take over. She got lucky.
No guarantees in this world. Yep.
Bank robber knows he's in a situation where he's on camera/identifiable to begin with. He's not going to take the money and kill the teller, since there are cameras everywhere acting as witnesses. He wants to get out of there as quickly as possible, not make it harder by shedding blood and maybe getting set upon by bystanders fearing for their lives.
Amen. The training I received was to follow the robbers instructions. Period. Don’t make any sudden moves; don’t do anything stupid or heroic. Just stay as calm as possible and NOT to even provoke by staring/directly looking at the perp (cameras do that).
This woman is really, really dumb.
Some people don't cotton having a gun pointed at them. People react differently. When I had a gun stuck in my face I got umbelievably enraged. I imagine she had the same reaction. And when you say "ALL businesses" what you really mean are large corporate businesses. Many small business owners appreciate that every dollar stolen is taken directly from their family.
Had she melted and fell on the floor, no one would fault her. People react differently under extreme pressure and she most certainly should not be fired for her reaction.
Those who chose safety over freedom deserve neither?
Well now...there is a rumble under the ground here in PA as Ben Franklin is spinning in his grave....
Sorry. You are so wrong. You DO NOT further provoke the situation; possibly turning a quick robbery into a a drawn out hostage situation. You hand over the money. Period.
Store management/cash courier services/law enforcement ALL reiterate that when a robbery has occurred on the premises. Stay calm and comply with the request.
If you would not fire her for fainting, then don't fire her for saying, “No”. The reaction to having your life threatened is visceral, not planned out.
Got to agree. She could have just as easily ended up with a bullet between her eyes. People have been killed for much, much less.
People do react differently, BUT...if you have a family (heirs) and your place of employment foresees the potential for this type of situation and the EXPLICITLY tells you (their employee/agent) to comply with any perpatrators request, to the best of your ability, I would never, ever say no, risk getting my head blown off, removing any sort of financial recovery my family/heirs would have, to feel all ‘ovaries of steelish’ to save the 2 to 3k I have in my drawer (which is covered by the business’ insurance).
This woman is an idiot and deserves to be fired.
Mrs. Springman was robbed when she worked at a bank, right at 9:30 AM, made her clean out the vault. The Clymer put his gun down for a second.
Some jerk asked, why didn’t you grab the gun, she said, “There were two others out there...”
I blame the idiots who took down the glass.
Have you ever had a loaded gun in your face? If not, you don’t really know how you would react.
You make the best choice at the time. If a van pulls up alongside you on the street, someone points a gun at you and says, “Get in”. Your best chance is likely to refuse. As the robber ran away and she was unharmed, it appears that the facts back up her choice, and when its your own life on the line, actual outcome is the only thing that matters.
Would you have fired this woman if she fainted or dropped the pile of cash on the floor? I doubt it. In any event, she appears to be the type of person who doesn’t need to be working for someone like you anyway.
All we have to go is a few written words.
What don’t we know?
Plenty:
1. Did she know the attacker?
2. Was the gun real?
3. Could she tell that this kid was scared?
4. That her courage was given by God (we’ve all been there)
So let’s not be like the left and read a few words and pretend that we know it all, because quite frankly we know nothing!!!
Almost to the point of not knowing if it really happened or not, only that we read that it did and someones take on what happened.
As for this crazy quote:
“I suppose your respect for her would have been through the roof if he had blown her head off?”
Of course I would....so she made a mistake, big deal. She would have been the one who paid for it. At least she stood up and didn’t cower. That I will respect, contrary to what you others might think
My apologies in advance but I intend to paint with a broad brush.
1. The robber usually only takes your money once.
2. Once you've given him your money the robber doesn't send you emails letting you know of his newest robbing techniques.
3. The robber doesn't ask you to deposit the money straight into his account so he can access it sooner.
4. The robber doesn't charge you an extra three bucks if you are out of town and get robbed by another robber.
5. The robber doesn't take your money at exactly midnight and then charge you an extra $50 because your check didn't clear until a nanosecond after the robbery.
“she appears to be the type of person who doesn’t need to be working for someone like you anyway.”
Wow, speaking truth to power. If I were a manager, I would give the usual song and dance, “the money in this bank is not worth your life.”
If I came across an employee who did what this lady did right here, I’d give her a raise, some paid vacation time, and she’d be employee of the month. You cannot pay to get this kind of bravery!
I would not want her working for me or with me...you are right on that count.
Look...I work in retail management; at times in a cash office. We are aware of what goes on around us; and are trained to follow the protocols that will keep ourselves; our coworkers and our customers as safe as possible during a robbery. That is, without question, to follow the robbers’ request. Not to make eye contact if possible (considered a threatening act...security tapes will provide id details). If someone faints, well that happens...and no that person wouldn’t be fired. But too emphatically say ‘no’ and risk not your own safety; but coworkers; customers; to increase the chances of a hostage situation (teller/cashier says no, so he grabs the lady in the line next to him) is stupid. WE ARE TRAINED THAT THAT IS A PROVOKING, UNCALLED FOR ACTION. You just give them the cash in your drawer...cause guess what? Its not ‘my’ cash I am now defending with my life...it is cash insured and guaranteed by the business insurance...and THEY also want you to give out the cash because whatever is in your drawer is profoundly less than they will have to pay out if there are multiple loss of life claims.
Anyone who defends this is really not versed in cash handling/business management.
Springman...I can understand (only too well) the stress your wife went thru. And I concur about the ‘glass.’ In many places it IS being reinstalled.
Forgetting your grossly inappropriate use of the word "request", the above is precisely how many employees have ended up getting raped in the back room or a bullet in the back of the head. Sheep go to slaughter just like other animals, just with less noise. I'm unsure what you pay your retail workers, but I'm certain that its not enough to dictate how they must react in life threatening situations. Will you take 100% responsibility if they totally comply and still get shot? I didn't think so. Then you would blame the robber, right? Right.
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