JamesHigdon Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Autozone Employee Fired for Stopping Robbery My shop spends tens of thousands of dollars a year on auto parts between the big box stores, this makes it easier for us by giving me one less store to compare prices at. We also run alldata which is owned by Autozone but as of tomorrow will be shopping Mitchell's shop management programs. This 23 year-old military veteran is proof that not everyone from my generation is a waste of flesh and I will make sure to show him my support! You want to stand for something, want to make a difference in this county but feel like your vote doesn't count...well this is easy, vote with your credit card, DON'T SHOP AT AUTOZONE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Okay so assume he had shot the guy or the guy shot him and someone died. The lawyers get a hold of it and Autozone has to shell out 2 million for a wrongful death as no one was injured in any other of the guys stickups... so its argued that the attempted foiling of the robbery was the contributing factor. Insurance would refuse to cover as a firearm on company property by an employee is against policy. Sucks - but it is what it is... You and I have the choice as business owners. The chains don't - they have to set a policy, draw the line - and unfortunately enforce it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesHigdon Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Two wrongs don't make a right. AutoZones stupid policy isn't justified by our stupid legal system. It seems like now's a good time for reasonable people to draw a line in the sand and say "don't be sillier then this". Well this is my line, you can't fire someone who defended our country for defending his place of employment. I know the risks I take with every policy I make but I'll gladly go out of business before I punish my guys for standing up for something right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverick Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 He did what he thought was right. He chose that over policy. Most people will do that. The company has a policy that can be blamed on blood sucking attorneys. 99 times out of 100, what he did he would be a hero. However, the one time it became a problem, because someone was shot, or their feelings hurt, a lawyer would put them out of business. If we all had to have a gun instead of a lawyer, things may be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Yup - Warren Zevon hit it right on the head of the nail - Lawyers Guns and Money! But keep this in mind - the clerk violated company policy of no firearms on company property well BEFORE the robber entered the store. He did not get fired for defending - the choice to take the gun was made when he left for work - he took his gun to work knowing it was a violation of policy and THAT is what he was fired for... when he parked on their property he knew he was violating policy and what the consequences of that violation were. Would be no different than if a gunman went to our local school and Joe citizen interfered with HIS unlawfully possessed firearm - even though though he would be right for protecting the children - he would be wrong for having a gun in a school zone! If Autozone did not fire him - every other person in their employ who currently chooses to comply and NOT bring a firearm would get the message that compliance is purely optional. It goes right back to the age old argument - with out the restrictions of law there is no freedom - contrary but quite true! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 well most people here know i work for AUTOZONE .i have not read the whole story and it will come down through the system in one of our meeting,s i am sure .......BUT RULES ARE RULES AND THOUGH I DONT LIKE SOME OF EM I LIVE WITH EM .autozone has had hero.s killed trying to protect others when most likely with out heros actions nothing would have happened .. . stores get robbed all the time we had one robbed at gun point last year local .no one hurt ..they did what autozone wanted .give the robbers what they want ...we have people walk into our store and pick up high dollar items and walk right out ..all we can do is ask them to come back in or write down the plate numbers ..do i like that nope i want to throw em down and call the police .or beat the heck out of em .but i dont .autozone looks at it this way ..its their money their items we who work there do not own any of it and they in our safety would rather let the bad guy have it ............. i cant say what i would do in this mans case .. . but i know and he knew what the rules are .and he has to live with it .....jw you are correct . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truck99 Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Yup - Warren Zevon hit it right on the head of the nail - Lawyers Guns and Money! But keep this in mind - the clerk violated company policy of no firearms on company property well BEFORE the robber entered the store. He did not get fired for defending - the choice to take the gun was made when he left for work - he took his gun to work knowing it was a violation of policy and THAT is what he was fired for... when he parked on their property he knew he was violating policy and what the consequences of that violation were. Would be no different than if a gunman went to our local school and Joe citizen interfered with HIS unlawfully possessed firearm - even though though he would be right for protecting the children - he would be wrong for having a gun in a school zone! If Autozone did not fire him - every other person in their employ who currently chooses to comply and NOT bring a firearm would get the message that compliance is purely optional. It goes right back to the age old argument - with out the restrictions of law there is no freedom - contrary but quite true! I have to agree. The employee made a decision in this case to violate company policy to do what he thought needed to be done. It was his choice, and I salute him for being brave enough to do it. He now has another choice - that of which company he can go to work for that does allow employees to carry while at work. As is typical, the news media slanted what really happened by their choice of words in the story's title. The man didn't get fired for stopping the robbers. He got fired for violating the company policy. If you don't like a company policy, you have a choice - leave the company or violate the policy. If you choose option #2, you have to accept the consequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesHigdon Posted December 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 Y'all have misread Autozone's response, the outrage is in the fine wording. NewsChannel 3 spoke to a representative at AutoZone’s corporate office, and he says that the company has a zero tolerance policy for employees having weapons inside the store. He wasn't fired for having a weapon on the premises or even for stepping in on the robbery, he was fired for brining his gun inside the store. He was fired for bringing his gun inside the store to protect his co-workers, nothing more or less. Zero-tolerance policies are for the lazy and weak of mind, it makes it easy for them to crucify evenly whoever ducks out of lock-step. Beyond that this robber has struck over 30 businesses in the area over the past year and the employee knew that when the guy came in the store, a career criminal that would gladly violate or kill someone for a few dollars doesn’t sound like someone we need to have a lot of pity for. If the police haven’t stopped the guy in a year after 30 robberies when is it ok for citizens to stand up, when CAN we defend ourselves? We could make this much more complicated than it really is and justify it with all kinds of responses but the reality is this trained Air Force Vet. took the safety of his friends and co-workers in his own hands and successfully averted any possible danger to them. This speaks to a bigger issue, we can choose to be a society of victims and takers or we can choose to be a society of defenders and producers. Saying “well someone could get sued” or “well someone could get hurt” simply makes this robbers behavior ok by appeasing it…and appeasement doesn’t work (ask 1944 Western Europe). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 LOOKS LIKE THE POLICE CANT DO THEIR JOB CATCHING A BAD GUY ...THANK THIS MAN FOR HELPING ..BUT THE FACTS ARE FACTS .RULES ARE MADE FOR A REASON ....AND THIS VET THOUGH IT TURNED OUT BECAME THE HERO TO MOST AND I AM SURE TO AUTOZONE AS WELL AND I THANK HIM TO .HE SPENT HIS YEARS IN SERVICE BY THE GOVERNMENT RULE..AS YOU HAVE DONE ..HE BROKE A GOLDEN RULE .WALK INTO STRIPES .WHATABURGER AND THOUSANDS OF OTHER COMPANY,S AND THEY HAVE THE SAME RULE .LUCKY THIS MAN HAD WHAT IT TOOK TO TAKE CONTROL .BUT THE AVERAGE PERSON DOES NOT ..HENCE THE RULES .A COMPANY CANT IGNORE THE RULES FOR ONE PERSON WHEN THEY HAVE THOUSANDS WORKING FOR THEM ... I AGREE WITH YOU ON RIGHTS TO PROTECT YOUR SELF .ALOT OF THE RULES WE HAVE TO LIVE BY I CANT STAND .AND I MAY SOMEDAY LOSE MY JOB OVER BREAKING ONE OF EM .HOPEFULLY IF I DO IT WILL BE SOMETHING LIKE WHAT THIS MAN DID .AND I WOULD SLEEP BETTER KNOWING HOW I LOST MY JOB .THE PART I DONT LIKE IS THIS STORY HAPPENS ALL THE TIME .BUT THE WORD VET WAS SPOKEN IN CONTEXT TO CATCH YOUR EYE AND THE MEDIA WON ..A REGULAR JOE WOULD HAVE NOT GOT THE MENTION. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprintsrule Posted December 5, 2012 Report Share Posted December 5, 2012 It sounds like the robber had never shot anybody. He just used the gun to scare them into giving him the money. If the employee recognized him from media reports he should have known this. Running out and getting a gun is only raising the risk of gun fire. If the robber had started firing after the employee returned I would have to say the employee caused it. What if somebody would have been killed? What chance do you think Autozone would have in court? If I was in the store I would not have wanted the employee to return with a gun unless it appeared there was extreme danger which it does not appear existed. I do not know you FSAERacer but by your attitude I would guess you are fairly young. I am not saying you are wrong but I think some of us older people have seen how the world works. Autozone has no choice but to have the policy they have chosen. They have no choice but to let that employee go. All of the chains or smaller stores you are moving your business to probably have the same policy and would have done the same thing. I believe in concealed hand gun license and protecting your home with necessary force. I am just not sure adding the possibilty of having a shoot out over some cash and putting customers at risk is justified. Now if the employee had waited in the parking lot and used his training to beat the hell out of the guy then I would be all for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmoves 99 Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 ..when I was a kid growing up in Houston a couple of stores had what were called "shotgun squads"..off duty law enforcement officers who were stationed behind 2-way mirrows off to the side of the counters of the businesses. How many of you can guess how fast the armed robbery rate dropped at these locations ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesHigdon Posted December 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 I've gone back and forth on my next response to this from long and snarky to short and bowing out, I'm still not sure... I do not know you FSAERacer but by your attitude I would guess you are fairly young. Yes sprintsrule, I'm young, but at 27 years old I'm already damn tired of seeing the nation that I believe to be the most exceptional in the world walk around with its hat-out and it's head down asking for mercy. Yes, I'm awful young, but at 27 I am not ok with a man robbing 30 businesses at gun point and the guy who tried to stop him being the most seriously punished. Yea, at the ripe old age of 27 I'm tired of hearing about our welfare state where we can't have Christmas parties lest we hurt the atheists feelings. Hell, at 27 I'm tired of hearing people argue about gay marriage and abortion while Iran, Korea and China try and think up novel ways to wipe my country off the face of this earth. At just 27 I'm tired of seeing my old classmates come home screwed up from fighting in wars while the president and congress barter over the costs of their healthcare. In just 27 years I've become so tired of the way things are that I chose to get up everyday and fight against them. I'm not a gun nut or a right-wing radical, I'm just tired of getting pushed around by Dr. Phil and zero tolerance policies. So yea, I'm young, but I'm also part of a generation that will stand and fight to take this country back to greatness because at just 27 years old nothing is more important to me than that. You want to know me better, I think the "great recession" is a good thing because it will make my generation as tough as some of the greatest ones of the past and I enjoy the challenge my generation faces with fixing this country. Lesson number one, you will get what you didn't earn over our dead (or fired as the case may be) bodies, but we will no longer stand and let it be taken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRfan Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Mr Bishop please reread the story... “I was in fear of my life as soon as he walked through the door and I see the gun. Your heart just starts pounding,” says Devin McClean, a former Auto Zone employee. Devin McClean decided to take action after recognizing the Fake Beard Bandit. “I waited for him to go up toward the front, I ran out of the restroom, ran out to my truck where I keep my own personal weapon, grabbed my weapon, came back into the store and confronted the guy,” says McClean. The employee recognized the robber and waited for him to turn his attention elsewhere, then wet to his vehicle to get his gun. He was not carrying it on his person at the time the robber entered the store. Therefore he made the decision to violate company policy in the heat of the moment, not when he woke up that morning. Much more understandable than if he was carrying all day everyday. And most Autozones I've seen are in a strip center/ lease space and don't own parking lot. Therefore gun being in vehicle is not violating company policy. And in my opinion protecting my life and the life of others trumps company policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesHigdon Posted December 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 ...in my opinion protecting my life and the life of others trumps company policy. I figured that was more less universal but progressive America teaches me something new everyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Mr Bishop please reread the story... “I was in fear of my life as soon as he walked through the door and I see the gun. Your heart just starts pounding,” says Devin McClean, a former Auto Zone employee. Devin McClean decided to take action after recognizing the Fake Beard Bandit. “I waited for him to go up toward the front, I ran out of the restroom, ran out to my truck" So get in the truck and drive away or stay hidden outside and be a star witness for the prosecution. Still in fear for his life????? He ran OUT of the fear inducing environment and chose to GO BACK IN and escalate the situation with no formal traing on such matters instead of say... calling 911, making precise mental notes on description, getting a plate number and allowing the police to do their job etc.... Doesn't seem like he was in fear for his life at that point - more like seeking vengeance for having BEEN placed in fear. Like YEA BUDDY - HERE"S MY CHANCE TO "LEGALLY" CAP SOMEONE. Once he went out it wasn't even self defense anymore! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1275th Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 ...Doesn't seem like he was in fear for his life at that point - more like seeking vengeance for having BEEN placed in fear. Like YEA BUDDY - HERE"S MY CHANCE TO "LEGALLY" CAP SOMEONE. Once he went out it wasn't even self defense anymore! I don't think the guy wanted to "Cap Someone" since he didn't when he had the chance. I think he was just a good guy tired of seeing bad guys get away with whatever they wanted. It wasn't self defense, it was defense of the employee left in the store with the bad guy. Get over it people, the employee did the right thing and got screwed because the company is too stupid to make an exception to their precious policy in a case where everything went right. It doesn't surprise me becasue the last time I was in an Autozone, about a week ago, the employees didn't even have the initiative to help a customer trying to make a simple purchase, so I had decided that that was the last time I'll ever go in an Autozone. I'm not sure what their business plan is, but providing customer service is not on the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesHigdon Posted December 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 I'm beginning to think some of these folks aren't from around here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1275th Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 I'm beginning to think some of these folks aren't from around here... Thats always a possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmoves 99 Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Mr. Bishop, "run away and be a witness...." I really don't want you on my side in a fight!!!! If you would leave your friends and co-workers like that!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 makes me wonder what the argument would be had that bad guy had a look out and warned him of an armed man coming after him ...and some one was killed by the bad guy or a bad aim on the vets side and hitting the person he was protecting .....and i can attest to seeing this first hand many many times we get hit with runners they have back up waiting outside to assist them ..we had one of our zoners follow a man out to his car to get the plate numbers only to have that man chase him with his car and hit him lucky it was just a scrape .. the store we had robbed last year at gun point had someone parked across the street waiting to pick the robber up.. ... i feel the same as most of you do about freedom and rights being taking away .i am 56 years old and have seen a lot of our rights go down the tube .and yet some condemn a company's right to set their own set of standards and rules .and down them for living by their rule. . ..jw i do not agree with your assessment heres my chance to cap someone . i truly believe this man was trying to do what he thought was right and he was right in the minds of many including me ...he and that other person in the store can be proud and thankful of how it turned out, not speaking directly at you jw on this last part ..but a company has the right to set their rules and abide by them .just like all of us do in our own homes ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightmoves 99 Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 HiTech, I have to agree with you , I'm going to keep my opinions and thoughts to myself after this ....but can you just hear all the comments that would be flying on here if that guy did run away and leave the others on their own, about what a coward he was to leave them.....thats it for me on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Mr. Bishop, "run away and be a witness...." I really don't want you on my side in a fight!!!! If you would leave your friends and co-workers like that!! LMAO. I never said that is what I would do. Believe me it's NOT. Running is not something I have ever done. Even when I probably should have (in hindsight) - just ask the local officer who I assisted in physically taking down a suspect last month (yea this 51 year old fart can still sprint 45 yards and still be in it when he gets there! Of course it took an hour to catch my breath - lol). I simply pointed out he had other choices that did not have the same consequences. I would probably not have yelled "FREEZE" - that simply draws his attention and possibly aim... as well as interferes with the "squeeze while slowly exhaling" method that allows close grouping and is taught on every range the military uses! But I would accept the consequences for my decision (such as getting fired for violating a policy) without crying about it. Thats what grown-ups do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 HiTech, I have to agree with you , I'm going to keep my opinions and thoughts to myself after this ....but can you just hear all the comments that would be flying on here if that guy did run away and leave the others on their own, about what a coward he was to leave them.....thats it for me on this one. true so true .....one thing about all of this .i dont hold anything against them in their believe .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted December 6, 2012 Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 1275th ..if you ever go back to autozone .look on the front door .the phone numbers of who whos is right there to call ...you call anyone of those numbers and action is taken right then and there after you hang up ..they do not hesitate to jump some butt ..plus tell em you want a courtesy next time in the store .you can bet the d.m will make it right .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesHigdon Posted December 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2012 Nightmoves 99, typically I would step out before this point but stuff like this is exactly what we need to stop to save this country. Bishop, the employee didn't write the news story the news did. He hasn't "cried" about anything even though he was fired a week before thanksgiving less then 2 months away from the birth of his child. Hitech, no one wants to regulate AutoZone or "force" them to do anything, we simply won't spend our money there and they can either change or go under, it's capatalism and that's how it used to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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