Would you do this (catch a bank robber)?

[Rayden]

http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/ ... bade4.html


HPD: Customer helped catch bank robber

05:03 PM CDT on Thursday, April 16, 2009

By Alex Sanz / 11 News

HOUSTON – Police say that an eyewitness to a bank robbery helped them catch the suspect who targeted a Wachovia Bank located at 2714 Smith Street.

Photo by Sergio Soto

The customer, who didn’t want to be identified, told 11 News that he goes to the bank several times a week.

He said that he arrived at the bank just after 2 p.m. Thursday when he noticed a man wearing pants covered in dye walking out of the bank.

The customer said that he chased the suspected robber and that he followed the accused thief by car, but that he eventually parked the vehicle, pulled out a gun and chased the suspected thief on foot.

The customer said that the suspected robber eventually emptied cash out of his pockets and ran into a nearby neighborhood.

The bank customer said that he was on the cell phone with a 911 dispatcher during the chase.

Thirty minutes after the bank robbery, Houston police officers found the suspected thief hiding in a car located ten blocks from the bank.

“I work real hard for my money. And a lot of people watching us do, too. And it’s not fair to us that people can get away with free money. That’s not fair,” said the customer.

The suspected bank robber is in hospital being treated for injuries he suffered during the chase, said police. His name has not been released.

[seamusTX]

No. Banks consider robbery a cost of doing business. I would not risk my well-being to retrieve their money.

- Jim

[stevie_d_64]

No. Banks consider robbery a cost of doing business. I would not risk my well-being to retrieve their money.

- Jim

In this case...

[74novaman]

Heck no. I only care a gun to protect myself and others. If he's out the door with the money, its time for the cops to track him down.

I'm not getting myself shot for any amount of bank money.

[ClarkLZeuss]

I would follow at a safe distance, out of sight, giving updates via 911, only. I'm not going to engage a bank robber. Now, if you're talking a purse snatcher, that's a different story.

[PArrow]

First off, it wasn't his money, it was daylight and the robber never confronted him. I think that he would have a hard time proving selfdefense if it came to a shooting.

This is a job of the cops, take notes/pictures and report..

[LarryH]

I was thinking much the same, all through the news item on KHOU-11. It wasn't really his money, and the unfavorable outcomes far outnumber the favorable ones.

[CrimsonSoul]

But it was in fresh persuit of a crime so *shrug* it could fly, but I wouldn't do it

[bryang]

No. There are some things that are better left alone and this is one of those things.

-geo

[longhorn_92]

First off, it wasn't his money, it was daylight and the robber never confronted him. I think that he would have a hard time proving selfdefense if it came to a shooting.

This is a job of the cops, take notes/pictures and report..

I do not wear blue nor do I wear a badge!

Did someone say badge?...

[Rayden]

So let's change it up a little bit. What if he was witnessing the robber robbing a woman at gun point in broad daylight like that? Lets say he doesn't know if the robber would shoot her after she heeds to his demand.

[ELB]

I would think real hard before giving chase, but I am not going to condemn this guy, or even call him foolish for chasing him. Everytime someone defends himself or others, it has two positive effects -- the immediate one, at the individual level, of defending himself, and the longer term, public level one of putting criminals on notice that it is not so easy to get away with criminal acts. Not everyone is capable of personally handling every situation that arises, but many, perhaps most, especially when combined with other like-minded citizens, can. We lost three airliners and 3000 people a few years ago because the people on them followed the traditional don't-be-a-hero advice for hijackings. But a few passengers on one airplane acted and prevented a greater toll, and the next couple or three hijacking attempts after that got crushed immediately because people didn't decide to just be good witnesses. I think that has more to do with fact that no US airliners have been hijacked since than all the pocket knives confiscated since then.

If every criminal got chased immediately, it would do more for lowering the crime rate than all the CHLs in the world. There would be some bad outcomes, i.e. citizens getting hurt or killed in the process, but I would wager in the long run there would be fewer criminal acts, and fewer citizens hurt. The proof for this is in observing the reverse situation: (formerly) Great Britain, where not only are you discouraged from (and sometimes prosecuted for) going to the aid of others, you are discouraged (and prosecuted for) defending even yourself and your family.

If you want to draw the defensive circle around yourself and live with that, fine, but do not rain on those who can and do go more -- they are doing more than "protecting other people's money" -- they are defending civilized society. I would rather live in a society that allows and admires gungho guys that chase down bankrobbers than one that denies families their claim on a victim's compensation fund because the beaten-to-death father defended himself, thereby "contributing to his own injury," as happened recently in the UK. I don't know that I would chase every bankrobber across town, but I am sure not going to criticize the guy who does.

[seamusTX]

This thread is about one topic: intervening in a bank robbery where the third party is not directly threatened.

Banks have an infinite choice of what they can do to defend against robberies. Some decades ago, banks had bars on the windows, fortified teller cages, and armed guards. For marketing reasons, they decided to abandon those measures and fall back on cameras, silent alarms, and prepared bundles of marked bills that contain dye packs.

Their policy is to offer no resistance, and hope that the robber goes away with his loot.

If someone wants to volunteer to be the armed guard that the bank decided not to hire, that's a personal decision. But he should not expect a medal or even a letter of commendation, nor anyone to pay his medical or funeral bill.

On a practical level, the average bank robber steals about $1000. Sometimes they get as much as $2000. They are usually caught by detective work after half a dozen robberies.

If a defender is shot or stabbed, the ambulance ride and emergency-room bill will be at least $10,000; and the defender could be disabled for the rest of his life.

P.S.: Robbers are not smart (if they were, they would be managing the bank), but they do make rational decisions. If they knew that armed resistance was likely, they would work in teams, lay down covering fire, and take out the armed guards. That is exactly how they worked back in the days of Jessie James.

- Jim

[TxFig]

On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs - Dave Grossman
http://www.gleamingedge.com/mirrors/ons ... pdogs.html


I guess some sheepdogs just feel more of a responsibility to be a sheepdog than others....


Which is to say - the guy robbing the bank today is going to break into your home tomorrow. Yeah, I would have given chase.