Stop a crime, get fired for it

Once again, we are seeing corporate stupidity at work. This time it’s Autozone. What did they do to a new former employee? Well, it seems that he chose not to be a victim of a criminal.

For this, he was fired by the corporate idiots. Here are the details from Fox News:

An AutoZone worker who stopped an armed robbery by retrieving a weapon from his truck said he was fired by the company for violating their gun policy.

Devin McLean and his store manager were about to close the AutoZone in York County, Va. when a gunman barged into the store.

“He pulled a gun from his waist band and demanded me and my manager go back into the office,” McLean told Fox News.

At some point, McLean was left in a restroom while the gunman made the manager open the store safe. That’s when McLean, a 23-year-old Air Force veteran, bolted through a side door and ran to his truck.

He returned through the front door holding a Glock 40 – pointed directly at the masked robber.

“I told him to freeze and to drop his weapon,” McLean told Fox News.

Instead, the robber took off – last seen running down the street from the store.

So, we have a citizen who had a gun, NOT in the store, but in his personal automobile, sneak out, and instead of running away and leaving his manager to get killed, get his gun out of his car and go back in to save his manager. The criminal, being typical of criminals everywhere, ran screaming into the night, terrified that one of his intended victims might just shoot him. So what was the opinion of the local police?

The York County Sheriff’s Dept. believes the bandit is responsible for as many as 30 robberies across the region.

“One of the officers asked why I didn’t shoot the robber,” McLean said.

Sheriff J.D. Diggs told Fox News he considers McLean to be a hero.

“He did a very brave thing,” the sheriff said. “He put himself in jeopardy in an attempt to make sure his friend was safe. He did a very brave thing.”

Yes he did. He potentially saved his manager’s life and stopped a criminal from making off with the store’s money. So, how did the management reward him?

Two days after the robbery – and just a week before Thanksgiving – McLean was fired.

Television station WTKR reported that McLean violated corporate policy by leaving the store and returning with a weapon.

The station spoke to a representative from the company’s corporate office who said they had a “zero tolerance policy for employees having weapons inside the store.”

So, the Corporation has a zero tolerance for people defending themselves? I guess they have plenty of tolerance for criminals murdering their employees then. I am going to assume they also have no problem with those very same criminals murdering any customers that happen to be there when the criminal comes in.

“It was a surprise to me,” McLean said. “I did the right thing. I saved the company $2,000. I saved one of their manager’s lives – and you’re letting me go? It was a slap in the face.”

McLean said the firing came at a difficult time. He’s about to be a first-time father.

“We’re having a little boy,” he said. “I remember when the guy came in with that gun. My initial thought was I want to make it home to my family. I want to have the opportunity to meet my son and for my son to meet his dad. And for someone to come in and shove a gun in your face?”

Reactions to Autozone for firing Mr. McLean are not very supportive…of Autozone’s policy.

The sheriff said he was disappointed to hear that McLean lost his job on account of stopping the robbery.

“That’s certainly unfortunate,” he said. “They should be doing something to reward that young man instead of firing him.”

Sheriff Diggs said AutoZone has also sent an unintended message to the community.

“The company has now sent a message to every would-be robber out there – ‘Hey we’re open for business and unarmed. Come on in and take our money,’” he said.

I think I’ll add, “And feel free to rape, rob and murder any customers who happen to be shopping here.” Needless to say, more people are agreeing with what the Sheriff said and with what Mr. McLean did.

Meanwhile, the backlash against AutoZone is spreading. Cam Edwards, of NRA News, called AutoZone’s decision an “injustice.”

“It may have been corporate policy to fire Devin McLean, but it’s also an injustice. He came to the aid of a fellow employee threatened by an armed robber and was canned. They should have named him employee of the year.”

Nope! Corporate policy is to act like a sheep. If the wolf wants to eat you, let him.

“He had the chance to run away but instead he chose to arm himself with his legally owned gun and save the life of his supervisor,” Edwards told Fox News. “Wouldn’t we all like to work with someone like Devin?”

Yes I would! The company I work for “In Real Life” has an identical policy. One issue, there are segments of the company that would be a prime target for evil doers bent on doing great harm to America. Those evil doers will simply shoot anyone that is in their way, whether they are cowering in submission or trying to hide, which is the company’s official policy in that sort of situation. Shooting the bad people? Nope! Can’t do that. You might actually hurt them. (That’s a sarcastic remark on my part) Well, the Autozone is going to find out the hard way what happens when the “sheep” who choose not to be sheep take their business elsewhere.

Customers have launched a boycott against the company on Facebook and a petition has been started urging them to rehire McLean.

“There’s a Pep Boys right around the corner,” one irate customer wrote on Facebook.

There’s an Autozone just down the street from the Anger Central Primary Dwelling. Needless to say I won’t be going there. In fact, it looks like a number of people who bow down and sing praises to Emperor Misha I are taking the bull by the horns and sending in politely written letters to the management of Autozone expressing their displeasure with their policy. Feel free to assist them of course.

Thatisall

~The Angry Webmaster~

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