Posted on 10/16/2013 6:02:14 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Bear Cothran works–or rather, worked–at a Shell station in Nashua, NH. Over the weekend, in the wee hours of the morning, a large guy with a knife entered the store, demanded money and, according to Cothran, threatened to kill him if he didn’t cooperate.
Cothran is a lawful New Hampshire gun owner, he had his gun on him, so he drew the gun and the robber left post-haste. Yay, the good guys win!
Uh…no.
At 11:20 [Monday] morning, Bear received a phone call from his boss, informing him that, in spite of his status as a 10-year employee in good standing and both the store and district managers going to bat for him, he was being terminated. Nouria Energy, the franchise owner of the store (as well as the majority of the other Shell stations in the southern NH area), has a policy prohibiting employees from carrying weapons while on the clock. Bear was let go without any manner of severance for violating this policy.
Boo, the “your guns scare us!” crowd wins.
For his part, Bear seems to have the right perspective:
“I have a fiancee who I love very much, step-children I love, our first grandchild is due in December. Given the situation, and the way the man who tried to rob me was acting, I truly believe if I didn’t defend myself I wasn’t going to be coming home to see my family,” said Cothran.
“I can find another job, one way or another. I may be out of employment for months, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat. Nobody’s hurt, everybody gets to go home, that’s what matters to me,” Cothran said.
The store has the right to set policy. The store has the right to enforce that policy. And the store also has the right to overlook/temporarily suspend/change its policy.
I’ll say this: If I’m a robber with a knife, I’m headed to that Shell station. Management has done the hardest part of my job for me.
Screw the policy manual. If you work doing a job where your life may be threatened, you should carry. Period.
You can always get another job but not another life.
The State cannot tell you that you are able to carry.
A private employer is well within his rights to tell you not to bring guns to work. In fact, the owner’s insurance company probably voids any thefts or damages if the employee pulls out a gun and shoots someone.
I know it sounds bad, but it is there to protect the employees and customers. Having worked at a bank where two people were shot dead in the 80’s, I can tell you that it is better to just hand over the money and be done with it.
If this is your home, the story is different.
I have to say that I probably wouldn’t have fired this guy, but I certainly would have suspended him.
But the owner does not come in and review the video every day.
The guy did what he thought was right. But he must not be all that bright. I know that carrying was not allowed at any place I’ve ever worked. And I have worked around a lot more money than this guy had in his convenience store.
May have been company policy to report incidents—also prob surveillance video was running.
Ooh, as a matter of fact—there was.
And if you are fired with cause, NH is horrible at unemployment cases. This guy is out on the street. Period.
Wow! He could be a cop!
..though Ch 9/WMUR’s report only shows a still from that video. “Bear” was his boss and dist. manager did fight for him to keep his job but it was a corporate decision
I agree 100%. He broke their policy and got fired for it. It may not be fair but the important thing is that he likely saved himself from death or injury in doing so. He's going to be around to hold that grandchild he's expecting. No job is worth missing out on that.
Bear SAID his boss, that should say
“A private employer is well within his rights to tell you not to bring guns to work.”
Oh, I quite agree. Nevertheless, ultimately some judge decides, or some convocation of lawyers agree to settle.
So he has a case.
Oooh, lookie:
“In this situation, the clerk was presented with a deadly weapon. He was in close proximity to the suspect when the deadly weapon was displayed to him. The clerk, from the information I have, took the appropriate action in terms of how he felt threatened, in presenting the firearm.”
Someone’s gonna win a lawsuit.
No, that’s just establishing a viable self-defense claim, should the state decide to prosecute (which they doubtless won’t). The wrongful termination suit is a nonstarter. Freedom of association, it can work for you and it can work against you. Tough break, but at least he’s alive to complain about it.
Another reason to avoid Shell businesses.
The best strategy for the public is to avoid such an unsafe gas station, but should anyone suffer from a robbery at a Shell gas station they'll know that the owners may well have contributed to their injury by establishing a policy which is likely to increase the risk of robbery at their business.
"This land's not your land, this land is my land
I've got a shotgun, you haven't got one
If you don't get off, I'll blow your head off..."
From the picture on the thread, I think he could find immediate employment with the Duck dynasty folks if he’s willing to relocate to Louisiana :-)
I’d encourage folks to boycott the Shell stations in NH owned by that franchise and let it be know why.
And as a free citizen there's not enough force in the universe to make me EVER buy gas from this insane Shell station...
Seems to me Nouria Energy is more worried about their liability exposure than the safety of their employees; not exactly a "leftist" orientation.
That assumes you are done with it after handing over the money, but that's the robber's choice, not yours.
You assume too much about the polite intentions of the crook.
I think it is a lower form of life robbing convenience stores than robbing banks. A family member was shot just for the hell of it by a guy robbing a convenience store.
“Under New Hampshire law employers can fire you for any reason and without notice so he wouldn’t have grounds for a suit. But he’s alive and that’s the important part. Finding another job as a convenience store clerk probably won’t be that hard, but I suggest he read the policy manual very carefully before accepting it.”
Maybe so, but the locals should be boycotting all the Shell stations owned by these turds. That would hurt more than any individual lawsuit. Just put them out of business.
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