Went over to the TCF in Uptown this afternoon to make a deposit, as I do most weeks (sadly, the deposits are mostly small). I would have gotten there around 2:15pm I think. I’m in the habit of going to a teller window, and usually get some cash back.
On the way in past the ATM, I noticed a lot of people sitting around in the lobby. Then the door failed to open.
Finally, I noticed the sign on the inside of the glass door saying “Temporarily closed due to robbery”.
There was a police car parked outside (no flashing lights), but I hadn’t particularly noticed that, properly parked police cars not running their lights aren’t IMHO a particular warning sign.
Haven’t found anything on the news yet (as of 10:30am 12-Aug-2004; aren’t bank robberies even news any more?), so I know nothing of what actually happened.
What If?
Obviously this has me thinking some about what would have happened if I’d been there some arbitrary amount of time earlier.
I saw no ambulance, and the people didn’t seem particularly agitated. When I came by again an hour later there was a second police car in the street (and another in a nearby alley) and a policeman stationed at the door. And a news camera set up up the sidewalk. And a probable-forensics vehicle pulling up (unmarked white SUV with spotlight and suspicious antennas). So I was probably within 1/2 hour of the actual event on my first stop.
So, if I’d been there when it happened (yes, I was carrying), I probably wouldn’t have had any incentive to do anything. So probably nothing other than one hell of an adrenaline rush would have happened to me. Risking my life (and the lives of everybody else in the building) over money that’s insured is an easy decision—DON’T. And of course making myself look like a threat to the robber would be an extremely bad choice.
If the robber is obviously armed and threatening the teller or other people, though, there might be decisions to make. If there are multiple robbers and they are threatening everybody in the room, there are still decisions to make.
This stuff is really beneficial to think out ahead of time, so in the stress of the moment you can handle a lot of the decision-making on previously-considered doctrine. Thinking it all through from scratch (and perhaps in a hurry) is to be avoided if at all possible. Of course some of the decisions depend on on-the-spot information, those have to be made on the spot.
My policy is not to consider acting to defend other people’s money or other property; most especially if I know it’s insured. Panicking the robbers may make them violent when they would have gone quietly away with their loot otherwise. I may have missed an accomplice in the crowd (who will shoot me from behind as soon as I draw). And, the biggy, by escalating the situation I’m risking the life of everybody in the building, not just myself and the robbers. Even if my gun-control is perfect (always hitting my target), the robbers may also shoot and may not be perfect. And frankly, anybody who is certain their own shooting will be perfect in such a situation is a complete idiot. Ask a bunch of special-forces people, or SWAT officers, and I’m sure they’ll say they’re very good, and they train hard, and they’re very unlikely to make a mistake, and they’re very careful. I’ll bet you won’t find one who says they can’t make a mistake, though. And if you study the results of their actions, you’ll see that they do make mistakes.
The only time I consider it appropriate to draw and fire in public is to protect people. Not property. This is my personal policy. I do also urge others to seriously consider making it their personal policies.