and there is some guy with a gun yelling at the clerks to hand over the money.
We read this scenario frequently on forums, yet there is a basic assumption that isn't grounded in reality.
Who is the #1 person designated by company policy who is responsible for handling the situation. You?
No.
You are not legally designated. Not as a store employee, not as the senior company person on the site, not as the Agent for store policy. Not even.
The store clerk is. In most cases his instruction is to comply. Why? Because the Customer Is Always Right. Sounds silly, but the point is, if this guy wants the money, it's not yours, it's not the employees, it's the company's. And the employee is responsible to just hand it over. It's his official duty on the job. He's in charge - not you or anybody else.
If the guy is the store owner, even more so. Not your problem. Back off, back out. It's his decision, not yours. If he wants to hand over the days cash in the register, his problem.
I read a lot of this on the forums, but nobody 'splains it right out. The perspective is that the Gun Bearer of Righteousness and Truth Upholding Law and Order can come to the rescue, when in fact he is usurping the responsibility of the employees who are tasked to handle it.
From the git go - it's not about community responsibility or being a Good Samaritan, most of these questions about Can I Pull Out My Gun? are about control and taking charge of a bad situation. In almost every post originated on this subject I never read about the poster considering that the store employee is the one charged with the responsibility to handle it. What I do read is that there is a lot of common thinking that the store employee is a powerless underling who can't or won't stand up to thugs.
Sorry, it's time for an attitude check. If you think you have a moral responsibility to defend the weak and poor - you have to assume they are. This guy may be dealing with the third robbery of the month, there's less than $50 in the till, and he is the store owner. It's his decision. Who are you to butt in and decide for him?
Never considered or mentioned.
Now, with that in mind, is there a new understanding of why the cops and CCW instructors recommend just backing off? Aside from the very real tactical issue of escalating things, the reality is that you as a walk in customer have no legal authority to try to control things. It's not your store, your money, your policy or your legal necessity. Only protecting your life is.
I used to work a parts store next to a bank, they were robbed annually and the perps usually got away with a few thousand dollars. An employee there understood that it wasn't a chance of getting robbed, they would be robbed, and all they had to do was hand over the money. Nobody was ever shot, and all I had to do was find a different parking spot until the crime scene tape was removed. As for applications for employment, there was no shortage.
Once the money is handed over and the perp is out the door then the problem is often fixed. Now it's up to your paid public servants. Not you.
If not, then all the scenarios over Do I Pull Out My Gun? might have a higher probability, and then we get to "it depends." At that point it becomes a case of what size Depends you might need - if and only if a gun is pointed at you and there is a sense you are about to die. It would be nice if you had quietly backpedaled to avoid that. Even more that you aren't another body to ID and it's only the store clerk. They chose the job, only they analyzed the risk, and only they suffer the consequences. Don't make their choice worse by interfering.
After all, the boss told them what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Not you. No amount of moral indignation over witnessing a robbery can bring them back if you draw your gun during their interaction.
Food for thought.
We read this scenario frequently on forums, yet there is a basic assumption that isn't grounded in reality.
Who is the #1 person designated by company policy who is responsible for handling the situation. You?
No.
You are not legally designated. Not as a store employee, not as the senior company person on the site, not as the Agent for store policy. Not even.
The store clerk is. In most cases his instruction is to comply. Why? Because the Customer Is Always Right. Sounds silly, but the point is, if this guy wants the money, it's not yours, it's not the employees, it's the company's. And the employee is responsible to just hand it over. It's his official duty on the job. He's in charge - not you or anybody else.
If the guy is the store owner, even more so. Not your problem. Back off, back out. It's his decision, not yours. If he wants to hand over the days cash in the register, his problem.
I read a lot of this on the forums, but nobody 'splains it right out. The perspective is that the Gun Bearer of Righteousness and Truth Upholding Law and Order can come to the rescue, when in fact he is usurping the responsibility of the employees who are tasked to handle it.
From the git go - it's not about community responsibility or being a Good Samaritan, most of these questions about Can I Pull Out My Gun? are about control and taking charge of a bad situation. In almost every post originated on this subject I never read about the poster considering that the store employee is the one charged with the responsibility to handle it. What I do read is that there is a lot of common thinking that the store employee is a powerless underling who can't or won't stand up to thugs.
Sorry, it's time for an attitude check. If you think you have a moral responsibility to defend the weak and poor - you have to assume they are. This guy may be dealing with the third robbery of the month, there's less than $50 in the till, and he is the store owner. It's his decision. Who are you to butt in and decide for him?
Never considered or mentioned.
Now, with that in mind, is there a new understanding of why the cops and CCW instructors recommend just backing off? Aside from the very real tactical issue of escalating things, the reality is that you as a walk in customer have no legal authority to try to control things. It's not your store, your money, your policy or your legal necessity. Only protecting your life is.
I used to work a parts store next to a bank, they were robbed annually and the perps usually got away with a few thousand dollars. An employee there understood that it wasn't a chance of getting robbed, they would be robbed, and all they had to do was hand over the money. Nobody was ever shot, and all I had to do was find a different parking spot until the crime scene tape was removed. As for applications for employment, there was no shortage.
Once the money is handed over and the perp is out the door then the problem is often fixed. Now it's up to your paid public servants. Not you.
If not, then all the scenarios over Do I Pull Out My Gun? might have a higher probability, and then we get to "it depends." At that point it becomes a case of what size Depends you might need - if and only if a gun is pointed at you and there is a sense you are about to die. It would be nice if you had quietly backpedaled to avoid that. Even more that you aren't another body to ID and it's only the store clerk. They chose the job, only they analyzed the risk, and only they suffer the consequences. Don't make their choice worse by interfering.
After all, the boss told them what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Not you. No amount of moral indignation over witnessing a robbery can bring them back if you draw your gun during their interaction.
Food for thought.
