Idaho Pharmacist Who Wrestled Down And Captured An Armed Robber Was Fired

secondamendmentfreedom.blogspot.com ^ | 12/31/09 | Sasparilla

[Sasparilla]

An Idaho pharmacist who wrestled down an armed robber was fired.

A pharmacist who fought off an armed robber in Coeur D’ Alene, Idaho was awarded a special award from the city. But his award from his employer was termination because he fought and captured the robber.

He chased an armed gunman who stole prescription medications, and was able to tackle him outside the store.

He confronted the man who informed him he had a gun and started reaching for his pocket. But, the former college wrestler tackled him. As often happens, the robber accidentally dropped his gun....

[Starboard]

The thug was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, robbery, and aggravated assault.

The pharmacist received a Citizen’s Appreciation Award from the City.

---

He’ll be back on the streets within one year, or less.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Idaho...

Sounds like a good name for a modern day "To Tell the Truth".

[rsobin]

What store was it? I’m not going there.

[TexasCajun]

Not a smart move un-armed.

Especially if the man is married w/ kids who depend on him.

A handful of the company's drugs not worth risking your life.

Things could have easily went bad very fast.

There's a time to risk your life and I time not to.

[rsobin]

All this is true but in times of stress we tend to be slaves of our chemistry (adrenaline).

[MinuteGal]

I, too, would like the name of the pharmacy. I'd be interested to see if it's one of the major chains....i.e., Walgreens, CVS, KMart, whatever.

If anyone knows, please ping me. We have to stop this crap.....soon we'll have a nation of no defenders FOR ANYTHING....internal or external.

If it's my pharmacy chain, I'll switch all my prescriptions and other business immediately and let the big shots know why.

No big deal to switch.....pharmacies are a dime a dozen near where I live.

Leni

[AirForceMom]

RiteAid had that policy when I worked there. We had a shoplifter that would hit us over night regularly. One time the pharmacist chased him out the door. Higher ups got wind, saw the security video and threatened to fire him if he did it again.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

I’m glad he found another job. From the article, it is obvious that this is a chain since the firing came from a headquarters. I too would like to know what chain store this is so I can take my business elsewhere.

[Radagast the Fool]

This was probably a lose-lose for the pharmacist.

If he gave the creep what he wanted, the pharmacist would’ve been fired.

Doing what he did, he was fired anyway.

If I ran a competing pharmacy in town, I’d hire this pharmacist immediately!

[Sasparilla]

It was a Shopko Pharmacy

[waynesa98]

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/dec/19/health/chi-ap-id-herofired

Jerry Gunderson said he was dismissed from the Shopko pharmacy late last month because he resisted the robbery.

[Pearls Before Swine]

he was dismissed from the Shopko pharmacy late last month because he resisted the robbery.

He should have told his employer, "I didn't give a crap about the robbery of your drugs! I was afraid for my life... he was reaching for his gun! I would have given him everything if he hadn't done that."

[NonValueAdded]

Thank the lawyers and also the families (in general, I don't mean his) who sue the workplaces when incidents like these go bad.

Good thing all that tort reform was in the health care ... what? what did you way? nothing said in thousands of pages? not a single word? merde!

Seriously, THAT is the way to slam back on any RAT argument on health care "reform," that not a damned thing was done about tort reform. Freaking RAT whores.

[Robert DeLong]

I wonder if it is due to the liabilities they face if something happened to the pharmacist. Whatever the robber takes is covered by insurance and would be far less than doleing out for the dead pharmacist.

[gettinolder]

From another thread on the same story; Snips: "I wasn't trying to apprehend him at all," Gunderson said Friday. "Had I known he had a gun I never would have gone after him." 

But rounding the corner to the store's entrance, Gunderson realized what the robber had just done: He'd mistaken the entrance for the exit and was standing there, blocked in by the shut door, frozen. "And there he was," Gunderson said. "And he says, 'I got a gun.' What happened next is why Gunderson lost his job at the Shopko pharmacy, a position he had held for nearly two years: Gunderson tackled the gunman.
" "He probably saved lives that day. If not that day, then another day," said Sgt. Jeff Walther, the officer who arrived at the scene with Sgt. Brandon McCormick.
 "It's done, it's in the past, I've moved on," he said. "My boss loved me, I know that. Someone 3,000 miles away decided to fire me. 

"I had all the local support I could have; they all didn't want me to go. But nobody interviewed me, nobody talked to me. It's a bad story, I guess." My feelings are there will always be people who think you did the wrong thing, regardless of situational risk. I admire the guy for taking this criminal down. According to the reference above, local law enforcement thought he possibly had saved lives that day. Some people act, some stand there due to a sense of self-preservation AND STILL LOSE THEIR LIFE!

[TexasCajun]

"Had I known he had a gun I never would have gone after him."

But once he confronted the guy trying to leave through the entrance, it sounds like they were face-to-face.

And if the employee didn't have the gun pointed at him, then he may have indeed saved his own life by tackling him.