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Armed Robbery! Or, more accurately, NOT an armed robbery.

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  • Armed Robbery! Or, more accurately, NOT an armed robbery.

    This isn't really a sucky customer story, more a what were they thinking story.

    My wife works at a bank branch, and deals with a lot of customers on a daily basis, many of them regulars. One of her regulars is in that day, doing a transaction, and a person that hadn't ever been in that branch before comes in. He won't approach the teller line, and isn't responding to anything she's saying to him. Finally, after the regular leaves the bank, they figure out this new customer is deaf/mute, and start to get him taken care of. No big deal, just another transaction now that they've figured that out.

    The regular observes this person acting a little strangely, and immediately after leaving the bank, calls the police and says there is "an armed robbery in progress" at the bank. He didn't say, there's something a little suspicious, check it out, or could you contact the bank to verify they're ok, or anything. He interpreted the situation as an armed robbery. There was no gun. There was no violence. There was literally no indication that an armed robbery was in progress.

    The first my wife or anyone at the bank knows about this is when she notices a police sniper across the street, trained on their window. Then the SWAT team swarms into branch. Obviously, there was no crime being committed, and it was quickly cleared up.

    I don't fault the guy's intentions, obviously he was trying to help, but WTF? That's a pretty big leap to make.

  • #2
    Better safe than sorry.

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    • #3
      People will make snap judgements no matter how often you tell them to chill out and focus on the person inside, rather than the outside. I can't wait till someone calls the cops of me like that. I'll so be preaching about it wherever I can.
      Purveyor of all chickeny goodness, and chicken ninja of the highest grade!
      "With it's indiscriminate slaughter of organic tissue, nothing can survive." - Mongo Skruddgemire

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      • #4
        People do get freaked out easily.

        When I was 18, my sister and her friend (who lived with her Grandmother just down the street) were getting ready for their first school dance while my parents were down in Jackpot (about 2 hours away) gambling and having a night out without the kids. My little brother broke his ankle jumping off the haystacks in the barn and we didn't find him for a while. When we did, I assessed the situation, called the hospital, found out I could admit him because I was a close relative over 18, drove my car out to the barn, helped him into the passenger seat and backed out to the front of our house. Meanwhile, my sister's friend panicked, called her grandmother down the street and told her that Ted had broken his neck. She of course, came tearing down the street to check on us. I have no idea what caused this girl to translate a 'sprained, possibly broken ankle' to a 'broken neck' but boy did she freak. I had to fend her grandmother off (we all hated Miss Busybody Grandma with a passion) before taking him to the hospital. I guess because I tend to be cool and take charge in a crisis, it just astounds me how easily people escalate a situation and then freak out about it.
        Because as we all know, on the Internet all men are men, all women are men and all children are FBI agents.

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        • #5
          I'd be curious as to what transpired on the 911 call. (Or equivilant if not in U.S.)

          Unless it's general policy to send SWAT out in full force on even the slightest hint of a bank robbery, my impression has always been that the 911 operator will get the appropriate agency rolling, while continuing to ask the caller for more details...."What makes you think it's actually a robbery? Did you see a gun? Etc...." to get a better idea of the actual situation, and what level of response is suitable.

          Mike
          Meow.........

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          • #6
            Quoth Bright_Star View Post
            Better safe than sorry.
            Of course.

            However, the employees of the bank were better judges of the situation and could've just as easily called the police if needed.
            Unseen but seeing
            oh dear, now they're masquerading as sane-KiaKat
            There isn't enough interpretive dance in the workplace these days-Irv
            3rd shift needs love, too
            RIP, mo bhrionglóid

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            • #7
              I guess I might think a robbery might be in progress too. But where did he get the armed part from? I would have asked the police to check first to make sure it's all okay or not. Overreact much?
              It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.
              -Helen Keller

              I got this av from Court Records, made by Croik!

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              • #8
                It's good that he was concerned enough to call though. Ironically, had he been right, calling in a "suspicious person" wouldn't have gotten a quick response though.

                Years ago, at my in-laws store, we received a call one night from the Sheriffs Dept. Someone had reported two men on the side of the building wearing hoods and carrying guns. We were all fine, nothing was going on and the guys checked around the building..nothing. When he told us when the call came in though it made sense. The call was made that morning when my husband and his dad were on the side of the building painting. Hence the "hoods" (protective masks) and *paint* guns.
                Kind of frustrating to know someone called in such a thing and they don't respond for 6+ hours.

                "You'd feel a Hell of a lot better if you'd just rip into the occasional customer."
                ~Clerks

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                • #9
                  SuperB...not "frustrating". Downright disturbing, actually.
                  Unseen but seeing
                  oh dear, now they're masquerading as sane-KiaKat
                  There isn't enough interpretive dance in the workplace these days-Irv
                  3rd shift needs love, too
                  RIP, mo bhrionglóid

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth BeckySunshine View Post
                    SuperB...not "frustrating". Downright disturbing, actually.
                    I agree. I've since learned that to get any immediate action you have to call these things in differently. Just a couple of years ago the Sheriffs dept did it again after I had a meth addict try to start something with me around closing one night. He backed off when he saw the two male distributors who, luckily, were still in the store finishing an order and we locked the doors when he left.
                    I saw which way he went and this guy had no right driving on a winding mountain road under the influence he was so when I saw his car on the side of the road not far from my house, I called him in.
                    2 hours later the Sheriffs office called to ask more questions about his location, how he had acted, why I felt he was threatening, etc and that they were just sending someone up.
                    I told them not to even bother at that point, he was likely gone and they could wait for the next report to come in on him.

                    This is why I'll never relenquish my right to own a gun. Up here, I'm better off calling an armed neighbor than 911. And while I have friends in law enforcement, whom I could call their personal cell phones, the lack of service in the area makes that impossible.

                    "You'd feel a Hell of a lot better if you'd just rip into the occasional customer."
                    ~Clerks

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth SuperB View Post
                      Kind of frustrating to know someone called in such a thing and they don't respond for 6+ hours.

                      What is it with police. I had to call them, when some neighbors down the street would shot off Fireworks(not allowed, where I live). I had to call them last night, because of neighbors, a street over was playing the music way too loud. They played it the whole day & until 2am. I had all the windows shut and I was still able to hear it, like I was playing it myself. The police never did come by, how do I know that they didn't. Well they asked if I wanted them to call me, when they took care of it. Since they didn't call...

                      The police doesn't do jack shit here in my town.
                      Under The Moon Paranormal Research
                      San Joaquin Valley Paranormal Research

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