Bank President stops robber

[Trent]

Jeff - interesting stuff, there.

I'm not denying that you make a very good argument, and that you are indeed on the "right" side of such argument. Some of the points you made in the last post (particularly of the crime needing to be "in progress") are eye openers.

But .. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I *could* have done something. Criminals who don't get caught don't just "get better", they don't go away. They tend to get worse. Each successful and clean getaway empowers them, makes them bolder - just as success in any field tends to do to a person.

I completely agree that chasing the guy outside wasn't a bright idea, but we also don't know how the layout was or what steps he took to get a read on what was outside (if any) before going out. From the photos they posted on that article, it looks like visibility from the bank on to the parking lot was very good. At one of my locals banks, the entirety of the parking lot is visible by an enormous wall of floor to ceiling windows. Would be hard for an accomplice to get the drop on you, unless the accomplice was sitting a block off with a rifle.

Fred makes a really good point too, that when people are confronted there's no way of telling how they are going to react. Animals, especially two legged ones, don't always behave as expected when cornered.

One thing for sure, anyone thinking of robbing that bank in the future is going to think twice about it. But another thing; some bad guys might not try to come and go peacefully, and now the REALLY bad guys know exactly who to shoot first, if they go "all in."

 

[Frank Ettin]

....I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I *could* have done something...

Getting employees and customers into a place of safety, being prepared to be a good witness, getting a license number of a getaway car, and being in a position to provide protection if something goes awry is "doing something." In any given situation there might be a lot of worthwhile somethings to do without doing something that might be illegal or counterproductive.

Part of the challenge for all of us is, in the event of a crisis, not to just do something, but to do the best and wisest something.

 

[Kleanbore]

Posted by Trent: But .. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I *could* have done something.

We hear that sentiment often.

Might I respectfully suggest that it would be much more difficult to live with oneself were one's actions to precipitate an exchange of gunfire that resulted in death or crippling injury, or if one were to lose one's health and mobility, life savings, or livelihood as the result of one's actions.

Criminals who don't get caught don't just "get better", they don't go away. They tend to get worse. Each successful and clean getaway empowers them, makes them bolder - just as success in any field tends to do to a person.

One does hear about bank robbers who rob more than one bank, but they are all ultimately caught.

A digital photo of the robber and his truck and a quick call would have made the likelihood of quick capture in this case almost a certainty, with far less risk.