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I work at a high end hotel in the Dallas Fort Worth area. Although this establishment is in a very upscale area, the parts of town surrounding this area are 'morally challenged.' Although I can neither confirm or deny whether or not I safely store my 9mm in my vehicle in the employee parking lot, I likely do.

Here is the problem. I leave work around the witching hour each night and being a doorman, always have a generous amount of cash upon me as I cross the 50 yards or so distance between the hotel and parking lot.

There have over the recent years been a number of armed confrontations in this space. People driving up to leaving employees and demanding their belongings at gun point. Once, an employee dropped his backpack and ran towards some nearby apartments and the perps shot at him! After each of these incidents, there is a temporary increase in security which invariably wanes over time.

So what do I use for protection? I carry a knife but we all know what happens when a knife is brought to a gun fight. Pepper spray? Harsh language? My hair routinely stands up on my neck as I traverse the eerie silence, I don't want to die in sight of my car and weapon. What would you all use/do?

I would first ask the management of the establishment if they could provide safe transportation to the parking lot. Explain to the management why you need such protection. If they don’t come around to your way of thinking… wait for someone on this forum to give better advice.

I've certainly considered it, and I know many would think it was worth the risk. I sure would feel uneasy about it though as security routinely opens lockers for various reasons.

For a while after each incident, security would shuttle women to and fro, they obviously don't think bullets penetrate men. But now all that has stopped. They even had PD regularly patrolling the stretch. That turned to an empty cruiser being left in the area. And that has turned to nothing, just as it always does.

I don't mean this with sarcasm. Look for a new job if it bothers you. If management doesn't take employee safety seriously, then they aren't good bosses.

You could ignore policy and carry anyway, or carry something else. That doesn't change the fact that you may be hurt or killed for that bag of money you carry every night. It just gives you a better chance of surviving an attack if it does come.

I don't think it is sarcastic at all, but BAG O MONEY, heck, I might take a bullet for that! Jk. The money is very good though and my family relies greatly upon it. This is certainly a risk I have been enduring for many years and I accept this danger as a part of the job, I was just seeing if anyone had any advice to help me mitigate this risk.

Btw. You are correct, they are horrible bosses. I have never seen a bigger lot of booty smoochers concerned about only themselves and the ever-present bottom line. However, perhaps unfortunately in an odd way, the money is still very good.

Any chance you have a friend that can come by and drop off your weapon at shift change?

Would be nice if your employer would agree to a secure locker that is private... Sounds like that's not going to happen.
Maybe a lock box or nano-vault inside your locker? The nano has a cable that can be secured so that the locked box cannot be easily taken.

Maybe there's a business opportunity there for you...
Buy an armored car, fill it with lock boxes, start a secure storage and delivery service for the downtown area.
Call them on the way in to meet you at your car, and again on the way out to meet you at the door.
Ok... not the most solid idea, but, it's a difficult situation..

Throw-away wallet with a noticeable but dispensable amount of money in it.

If you get away with carrying a knife, why cant you carry a gun? Is your work posted 30.06 or is it just policy? Only you can decide whether you should worry more about losing your job or your life.

Purplehood wrote:Throw-away wallet with a noticeable but dispensable amount of money in it.

Good idea.

Not 30.06, just policy.

surferdaddy wrote:Not 30.06, just policy.

Does the policy contain the 30.06 language? If not, I think all they can do is fire you. You mention that security goes through lockers... do they frisk down the employees?

No official wording in the handbook, I'd just be facing termination. My job is a bit physical and I'm in and out of a lot of guest cars. I don't think I could practically keep it on me whilst I was working.

Pepper Spray would be better than nothing, you can at least do that while you make up your mind on what to do long term.
Also, even things like those mini .22LR revolvers (NAA ones) or a pocket .32/.380 is super easy to keep in a pocket all day even wearing dress slacks with nobody the wiser. A buddy of mine just picked up a only slightly used Seecamp .32 for only $350, that thing is easy to keep in a pocket holster.