Plainclothes and Uniforms...

[coldcupofjoe]

I think this was a big oops...

Towards the end of my shift tonight in the middle of a rush that lasted about an hour this guy, looks to be 30 something comes in to the store. I greet him and ask him if I can direct him to something and he tells me no he's just wating for a friend. Thats cool, it was windy and a little chilly and whenever its windy this town gets covered in dust. (deserts suck...) Only thing is 20-30 minutes later he's still there, and I'm still checking customers.

So I ask him again if I can help him or if he wants to use the phone. He looks at me again and tells me no, only this time his jacket opens a little and I notice he has a gun under his jacket. A thought occurs to me, he's been here for about 30 minutes we've been busy this whole time, he's waiting for the place to clear out. I'm thinking he's gonna rob me.

I call my manager to the front and tell her I need some bills and then wait about a minute and run after her explaining to my customers that I told her the wrong change. Not good customer service under normal circumstances but by now I'm thinking this guy is gonna take my drawer and shoot everyone in the store, so I figure it's for the best. when I caught up with my manager out of earshot of any customers in the store I explain to her whats happening. She promptly calls the police.

5 minutes pass, I'm checking customers as fast as I can so I can get more people out of the store, and finally a uniformed police officer walks in hand on his gun says "Hey Detective 'Smith'," to the guy at the front door and calmly asks me if the guy with the gun was still in the store or if he had left...

[myswtghst]

Not a big oops by any means, on the contrary, I think you did great. That's the kind of situation where it's always better to err on the side of caution. I'm sure the cop wasn't too offended (unless he's an idiot) and hopefully he'll realize how his behavior looks in the future.

[draggar]

I agree, I think you did the right thing. I don't think the cop should have been annoyed at it, but should have been impressed with your observation.

Good job, you can never be too safe nowadays.

[Crazeyal]

If you acted out, or accused him openly, he could bitch. What you described was textbook defensive strategy. It makes HIS job easier when people do that instead of blowing it off or panicking!

[felixxkatt]

you did the right thing! if you had just let it slide and he HAD been a nut you could have been shot! you didn't make a mistake at all. it's not like you can walk up to a gu with a gun and say, "hey, are you a cop or are you trying to hold us up?"

[coldcupofjoe]

Quick update, My district manager was at the store when I got in today so we could go over the tapes together.

You can clearly see on the tapes his badge that he was wearing on a chain around his neck, completely visible. Other than that she said I handled the situation fair enough.

She also gave me a for future reference, apparently nobody but nobody is allowed to have any kind of weapon in the store barring an emergency situation. This includes police officers, the F.B.I., members of the military and whatever personal diety you choose to believe in. If they have a weapon I'm supposed to ask them to leave it outside or leave, if I feel comfortable doing so.

[Foxglove8778]

I believe you did the right thing, even with a badge dangling from his neck.


You can not be too careful.





Of course, one of my mottos is "just because I'm paranoid does not mean they aren't out to get me. "

[lordlundar]

If they have a weapon I'm supposed to ask them to leave it outside or leave, if I feel comfortable doing so.

If they have a weapon, I'm NOT going to feel comfortable doing so.

You felt an immediate threat, badge or no badge. You did nothing wrong.

And congrats on the comic listing.

[Arucard]

There's nothing to stop some whackjob getting a police badge out of a box of cereal and hanging it around his neck. I'd say play it safe and call the cops any time you see anyone with a gun. Even if it's a fully uniformed officer, you can still ring and check whether there's a real police officer in the area.