NEWS: Store Clerk Refuses to Call Police for Robbery Victim

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
A gas station attendant in Gary, Indiana, refused to call 911 for a woman who was robbed by an armed thug while pumping gasoline. The attendant told the woman to use her cell phone. The manager explained that employees are forbidden to use the phone at the front of the store to call police for fear of retaliation from criminals. [...................]

I guess you could call this institutional cowardice. In New Orleans, they used to air a video in which the police and others told robbery victims to just give in to armed criminals because nothing material is worth dying for. Of course, the enormous criminal population there had televisions like everyone else and, of course, they just took this as carte blanche to carry out their nefarious deeds. Most victims were at a loss to provide a meaningful description of the thugs and they just disappeared into the numerous housing projects. The criminal element will never be deterred by police or legislation, but they will be deterred by the armed and the brave who believe that submission is worse than death.

Grady, I find this info regarding New Orleans "instructions" to robbery victims to just "give in", very appalling, however interesting. This is because I live in the Oklahoma City area, and not long ago at all, there was a newscast that was repeated many times within a couple of days/nights, then I never saw it again. It sounds similar to what you said about the N.O. video. They said that there is a very dangerous robber on the loose, who has robbed numerous people, and if you happen to get robbed today/tonight, just give the robber whatever they want.......

I never heard whether the alleged robber was caught, or what. The story and warnings just disappeared. Odd. However, I knew that this was very wrong of the media to be saying.

Also, to the person (sorry, I don't remember who) that earlier in this thread said something like that it's one thing to say what you would do if you suddenly found yourself in this situation, but another to actually do it. I would have tended to agree with this, however, a personal experience I had about a year ago, makes me think that this might not pertain to everyone - even the most unlikely:

I am a woman who weighs just a little over 100 lbs. I have never been in any sort of physical fight in my life, much less been attacked by anyone.

Last year, I walked to the local convenience store to get $10.00 out of the ATM and purchase a pack of cigarettes. I only had with me the change, about $6.00 + change and my just purchased pack of cigarettes. I have never even been in a fight before, much less been attacked. But, (I only live two apartment complexes away from the store) as soon as I got into the parking lot of the first complex (a shortcut I used to take), I heard rapid footsteps behind me, but by the time I turned around, it was too late. A very large man was upon me. He had a knife in one hand (a small one), and grabbed me with the other, demanding, "Give me what you got!" I guess I didn't really understand that this was really happening, especially considering the value of "what I got", since I said, "No I' wont!" He pushed me to the ground and apparently had seen me put my stuff all into one pocket, because he started grabbing for that pocket. I protected that pocked, dug my short nails into his hand, held onto my stuff, all the while, I saw that there was a man standing on the edge of the other end of the complex, just watching. I yelled, "help!" as loud as as much as I could. He did nothing. Then a van came by and just stared down. I continued to protect my pocket, and directed my cries of "help" at the van, but soon to realize that the attacker was with the people in the van.

He looked up at them and sort of hesitated. I knocked the knife out of his hand and he let go of me, scrambled for the knife and got in the van and they drove away. I found that he had gotten away with the pack of cigarettes, which must have been squashed beyond use by then, and a total cash amount of $0.29. I was all bleeding, but didn't notice. I was MAD! It didn't matter (at the time) what he had or had not taken. I still had my whole $6.00 and my ATM card, but that did not matter either at the time. I then directed my anger at the other bystander who had done nothing. He then, after they drove away came over and asked if I was O.K. I told him something, like, what's wrong with you! Are you with them too? Why didn't you do something! You owe me a pack of cigarettes, since that's all I came here for and I don't intend to go home without what I came for! He sort of dumbfoundedly said that sure, he would buy me another pack, but as my boyfriend pointed out, when I told him what had happened when I got home, very reasonably told me that he didn't do anything because for one thing, for all he knew, that was my husband or boyfriend and didn't want to get involved in a domestic dispute. He also said that the man had had something in his hand, and for all he knew, it could have been a gun.

Anyway, to make an already too long story short, he bought me the cigarettes, and gave me some valuable advice, which I follow to this day. That was that if I'm walking alone at night, don't walk inbetween a row of parked cars and the street, where no one can see. To always walk on the shoulder of the road, because someone like that, will be much less likely to jump a person, if they are in clear view of others.

I don't tell this story, or even think of it much, but that post reminded me of it, and none of you know me except through my postings, but I have always done anything possible to avoid a fight, my nature would have been to give him what little I had on me, or even if it had been a lot more. I am afraid of people like that and wouldn't want trouble like that. But, something else took over, that I never thought I had in me, that refused to let anyone just take something from me like that. So, I fought as hard as I could to protect it. And even less is my nature to have demanded from the bystander to buy me again what that robber had taken!

Later, I was very frightened by the way I had handled that. I was very lucky, and I was really scared by my own actions for a long time. Writing this now, brings back the fear that I instilled in myself, by not giving up my meager $10.00 and ATM card, which I could have called in stolen very easily, and not risked my life against a large man with a knife. If I had been asked prior to knowing that this was going to happen, I wouldn't have hesitated to say that I would have given him what he wanted. (This was way before the TV propiganda I wrote of earlier was ever on).

So, the poster was right, who knows how one would really react. Sometimes, one can really surprise oneself. Thanks for listening.

CyberKat

Oh, just to let you know, I posted this, I guess in a personal response triggered by the earlier post regarding that one wouldn't really know what they would do in a situation until they were really there. I realize that my story is opposite what the poster was trying to say, but that it also brought truth to the fact that one really doens't know until it happens.

I did not post this to trigger an anti-smoking debate. I could have substituted what I bought for something else, but I just told the story as it happened. Thanks again.

I've actually had this sort of garbage happen to me a couple years ago. I was robbed late night downtown, I waved down a cab driver to call the police telling them how I was just robbed. He told me he could not get on his CB and tell the guys at their cabbie HQ to call the police. I continued to wave down cab drivers and they all said the same thing. The only thing I can think of why they would not is because they could not be bothered.

Since no cab drive would help me I got to a phone booth and dialed 911 and they told me it was not an emergency! I guess if you're not actually shot or stabbed they couldn't be bothered to help you out.

THEN I actually walked to a Police station and the female clerk there gave me nothing but attitude basiclly saying they have better things to do. Can you believe that?!?

Everywhere you go these days it seems more and more that people just dont give a damn about anyone but themselves, it's quite pathetic.

[edit on 26-11-2005 by d1k]

Previously posted by d1k
[...............................] THEN I actually walked to a Police station and the female clerk there gave me nothing but attitude basiclly saying they have better things to do. Can you believe that?!?

Unfortunately, I can. Maybe that's why I was just so mad at that man for just standing there, that I thought he owed me something. Maybe, now that you put it the way you did, about no one wanting to get involved, he did owe me something.

I can't honestly say that I would jump into the middle of something that he had observed from his point of view, but I certainly would have called 911, then at least tried to find some one else to help, Something like that. I would hope I would.

I'm sorry but the entire excuse for the clerk not calling the police for a woman being robbed is bogus as far as I'm concerned. First of all, the clerk is probably standing right next to a telephone, secondly, he could actually lock the door to protect himself and thirdly there are usually cameras in the store that would make it unlikely for the criminal to enter anyway.

This whole thing as well as some of the other posters experiences make for a sad state of affairs. You would have to be pretty lucky these days to find yourself in trouble with anyone willing to even dial a phone to help in the vicinity.

On the other extreme, there are cases where if even one person intervenes, others are likely to jump in too. This happened last year in the Daytona area where during a robbery the clerk wacked the guy over the head and from there the opportunity for everyone else to jump him basically caused a mob to take him out and restrain him for the police. The guy didn't survive the injuries sustained.

Anyway, the advice I have been given if ever confronted (but would I follow it if in that position - I don't know) is that nothing is worth losing your life over. Give them what they want via tossing it clear of yourself so they go to retrieve it and run like hell. This would not be instinctive behavior for me these days so I am afraid I might do something stupid, but hopefully I will never know.

The motto of this story ( and so many other) is that you should just take life's blows on the nose; never resist , have no dignity and just call someone else to handle your life for you....

The death of personal dignity responsibility) is the death of civilization imo.

Stellar

I have a freind who works as a clerk at a gas station. The reason why he didn't call the cops is half of the time, it is the clerks freind(s) who rob people in front of the store. Because they know he will never call the cops on his freind(s) if he gets some cut in the money.
Just my 2 cents.

Good gosh Harvest! I don't know why I didn't think of that - what a frightening prospect.

In this case however, I do believe the store manager backed up the clerks actions as being store policy, which I find deplorable.

Did the clerk not realise, that during robbery Cell Phones are normally taken - get a good couple of bucks for one of them in "the hood"...

Originally posted by Thomas Crowne
By God, I yearn for the days when there'd be no need for 911 to be called for her, but a coroner for the rogue who attacked her. You know, back in the day when men were men and there were things much scarier than simply dying - like losing your honor.

Bah. I give up.

don't give up. there are others who share your sense of honour, even if they don't spell it the same.
and that scarier thing is here and now, waiting to strike the death blo(n)w(o).
pretending to give up is probably a good strategy.

Originally posted by billybob
don't give up. there are others who share your sense of honour, even if they don't spell it the same.

I know some, they are too few and too far between.

In my foolish youth, when I had no one to answer to, I found I was much more .....was it fearless or wreckless. I think once you are fearless, you carrry that always, but once you have others that depend on you personally, there is a part of you that just cannot "risk it all" for a stranger when there are people at home depending on you to be there for them. Because we live in times now where honor is not understood, sometimes even by those who love us most.

I believe if I were at the next pump in this case, puny female aside, I could not have contained my sense of outrage and acted. But if one thought of the people who loved me entered my mind I would have been paralyzed by the thought.

Maybe....hopefully... that's just a girl thing.

CyberKat, I empathize with your response.......when I was a bit younger, I tended to get a little reckless when the adrenaline was pumping......it can save your life, or get you killed.......

I could see the management telling the clerk to not grab the phone and try to call, if the station itself was being robbed......while the robber was still standing there.......he might try to shoot the clerk to stop him.

But after the robber leaves, how would he know who called the police?? And if the station was robbed, is the clerk still prohibited from calling the police?? Looks like it would be just as risky, if not more so, as calling for a customer being robbed!!

.

Originally posted by frayed1
I could see the management telling the clerk to not grab the phone and try to call, if the station itself was being robbed......while the robber was still standing there.......he might try to shoot the clerk to stop him.

But after the robber leaves, how would he know who called the police?? And if the station was robbed, is the clerk still prohibited from calling the police?? Looks like it would be just as risky, if not more so, as calling for a customer being robbed!!

You know, this whole thing really sounds like it was one of, or a combination of:

1) The Citgo Station probably does have a policy in place that is there for
the protection of both the owner and of the employees.

2) It probably does not take a whole lot of intelligence to work at a place like that, and the employee, even if he thought he was following the rules, probably either misinterpreted the policy, or took it too literally. Just about any policy I would think would leave some room for exceptional conditions.

3) Working alone at night, it's possible that he had had bad experiences before and was simply a scared coward.

4) dgtempe was right, and he was wanted by the police himself and didn't want to get himself taken in on a warrant or something. Very cowardly, considering the situation.

Any way you look at it, a man like that should not be working alone at night at a gas station type place, where robberies are known to be fairly common. I wonder if he was fired?

This whole incident smells of BS, methinks that clerk need re-evaluate his choice of employment.
My petite older sister worked in a gas station many nights and "dealt with" every and any situation that arose, as they should be. If you're going to get "scared" stay home under your blankie sipping milk and nibbling mom's cookies
Maybe Citgo need to re-evaluate who they're hiring because I know here most require experience and provide training ... guess for what reason ?

So much for putting the customer first huh? ... I thought that's what most businesses want ? customers to come back ? in 2005 it's sad the level of customer service we are getting and are content with, honestly. For someone who has worked in the industry most of her life, I am greatly disappointed.

Originally posted by ufia
If you're a fatty who sit in front of the TV after work, you better go for submission option, because if you try to stand up you will get hurt, badly! That's the reason why the police advise people not to stand up. If don't know how to knock unconscious an armed thug, don't!

And, there is the reason I despise the concept of fatty. Gorging one's self on gut bombs and other assorted garbage, keeping your growing arse glued to the couch and exercising the booger-picker with the remote is selfish.

Even if I were a "fatty", I'd hope that the scene of an animal attacking a woman would be enough to cause me to hurl 300 pounds of built-up burgers like an artillery round, smashing the creature between my lard and the asphalt.

Die on your feet rather than live with such a shameful memory.

Ahh Citgo...enemy of America. This is a Venezuelian company run by the communist dictator Chavez. Although anti-American, he is a good friend of the left in this country (who are anti-American themselves).

I would not expect anything less. I urge all self respecting Americans to boycott this enemy company.

"A coward dies a thousand deaths; the brave only once."

Well it goes something like that ......

Stellar

Originally posted by Apoc
Ahh Citgo...enemy of America. This is a Venezuelian company run by the communist dictator Chavez. Although anti-American, he is a good friend of the left in this country (who are anti-American themselves).

I would not expect anything less. I urge all self respecting Americans to boycott this enemy company.

This one incident in this one station does not represent the policy of Citgo stations in general I am sure. Where I grew up, this would not have happened. These stations are independently owned/run. Don't hurt the little guy because one of them is an idiot.

Originally posted by Apoc
Ahh Citgo...enemy of America. This is a Venezuelian company run by the communist dictator Chavez. Although anti-American, he is a good friend of the left in this country (who are anti-American themselves).

I would not expect anything less. I urge all self respecting Americans to boycott this enemy company.

And why in the world did you decide to try and make this about politics??!!

Allow me to refer you to this thread....go there and do some fishing......