Jim Nicholson knew he should have just handed over the cash.
But when the thin man in a beanie cap, dark clothing and sunglasses pushed a black backpack across the bank counter and demanded money, Nicholson says his instincts took over.
After more than two years working as a teller at the Key Bank branch in Lower Queen Anne, Nicholson clearly understood the bank's strict policy of quickly complying with robbers' demands and avoiding confrontation.
Instead, Nicholson threw the bag to the floor, lunged toward the robber and demanded to see a weapon. Surprised, the would-be bank robber backed up and then bolted for the door, with Nicholson on his heels.
Nicholson, 30, chased the man for several blocks before knocking him to the ground with the help of a passer-by. Nicholson then held him until police arrived.
That was Tuesday. On Thursday, Nicholson was fired.
In a state that consistently ranks in the top 10 nationally in bank robberies, what Nicholson did was not only ill-advised, according to police and the FBI, it was all but unheard of. Bank tellers are trained to get robbers out the door as quickly as possible and are advised against being a hero over money that's federally insured.
Nicholson says he gets that. To a point."They tell us that we're just supposed to comply, but my instincts kicked in and I did what's best to stop the guy," said Nicholson, who says he understands why he was fired. "I thought if I let him go he would rob more banks and cause more problems."
Anne Foster, spokeswoman for Key Bank, declined to comment on Nicholson and his actions.
Seattle police and the FBI, which investigates bank robberies, advise against tellers taking action against robbers."We always recommend citizens, including employees of institutions, be good witnesses," said Seattle police Sgt. Sean Whitcomb. "When confronted by a violent criminal, it is best to comply unless they feel their personal safety is in jeopardy. It is possible that taking action and confronting the criminal may lead to the injury of the victim or other bystanders."
"You want tellers to be proactive, but you want them to do it safely," added FBI Special Agent Fred Gutt. Sounds like he did...
Craig Blacklock, whose Oklahoma-based Financial Institution Robbery and Security Training instructs employees in how to deal with robberies, agrees. But he also understands what may have prompted Nicholson to refuse the robber's demands. "Fight-or-flight kicked in. It's the same response as if somebody stole your wallet," said Blacklock. "But by lunging at the guy he didn't just put himself at risk, but he put everyone else in the bank at risk. There's so many things that could have happened."
When the man came into the bank, at 434 Queen Anne Ave. N., dressed in a knit cap on one of the hottest days of the year, Nicholson says he was immediately uneasy. The suspicious-looking man walked in and out of the bank, then got in the teller line, then stepped out of line. When he finally approached the counter, he walked toward Nicholson and said, "This is a ransom, fill the bag with money," Nicholson said. Hearing the word "ransom," Nicholson stopped for a second and asked to see the man's gun. The man said, "It's a verbal ransom." Nicholson then lunged over the counter at him.
"My intent was to grab his glasses off his face, or him," Nicholson said.
Fortunately for Nicholson, the man wasn't armed.
The would-be robber, a 29-year-old transient, has a lengthy criminal history, including convictions for theft and robbery, according to court records. When he was arrested Tuesday he was being supervised by the state Department of Corrections. Not very well evidently. Any of those hacks gonna get fired?
The Times is not naming the suspect because he has not been charged in connection with the Key Bank robbery. Of course. We can't do that...
Nicholson said he has run after shoplifters while working at retail jobs in New York and California. On Tuesday, as well as in past cases, Nicholson said he felt confident he could catch the person. "It's something I almost look forward to. It's a thrill and I'm an adrenaline-junkie person. It's the pursuit," he said, adding that when he told Seattle police officers this, one officer suggested he apply to become a cop.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is celebrating the 16th anniversary of Tent City with a hot dog barbecue and ice cream social for inmates on Monday.
The 1,000 hot dogs and the ice cream that will be served around noon were donated, according to the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office.
First, I feed them free liver and onions on my birthday, and now hot dogs and ice cream, Arpaio said in a prepared statement. This might tarnish my tough Sheriff image.
Arpaio opened Tent City on Aug. 3, 1993 for about $100,000. Phoenixs Tent City is filled with Korean War canvas tents donated from the U.S. Department of Defense. Inmates supplied most of the labor to build Tent City, which kept construction costs low, according to MCSO.
Tent City is the largest canvas incarceration compound capable of incarcerating up to 2,500 inmates in 65 tents on about 15 acres, according to MCSO.
Only convicted men and women are housed in Tent City. Since 1993, 375,000 convicted inmates have served their sentence in Tent City, according to MCSO.
As long as Im the Sheriff, the tent program will be operational, said Arpaio in a prepared statement.
In April, a separate Tent City housing area was opened for convicted inmates with immigration or other holds placed on them, according to MCSO.
#1
Jo, Liver and Onions??? Tents are cool, but this is cruel!
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
08/03/2009 10:57 Comments ||
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#2
There's also the pink underwear and boloney sandwiches. Then I heard that the inmates had to have TV so Joe set up a TV that only gets the Disney Channel.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
08/03/2009 17:05 Comments ||
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#4
I have nightmarish visions of Russians who develop a fondness for whiskey, so much that they make a Russian whiskey. I gather the Finns now make a whiskey that could eat through a railroad tie.
#5
I wonder how many cows and sheep flocks standing in the midddle of dirts roads are killed by drunk drivers in Wales annually? If you've been to Wales like I have the prior sentence will actually make sense to you.
#3
The bloody research grant money is running short again!
Quantum computing has substantial intelligence and defense implications. That's why a lot of the funding in the US for quantum computing and algorithms comes from NSA and OSD. DOD and the intel community are running a major program review / research conference for QA/QC this month.
#6
I think what the article is trying to say is that (remember wave particle duality) the particle-wave has peaks which differ for charge and magnetism when the peaks normally coincide.
#7
I read one theory a while back that sounds like something a stoner would come up with. That even elementary particles aren't. That is, the various quantum particles are complex organizations of even smaller particles.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/03/2009 10:41 Comments ||
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#9
If you subscribe to "String Theory", then electrons are not really 'particles of matter' anyway.
The 'quantum wire' theory has been around for a bit and if they've actually succeeded in producing the Haldane effect of some form of this, it's huge, yet not really applicable to daily life for the next generation or so.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
08/03/2009 14:07 Comments ||
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#10
Anonymoose #7: The 3 generations of leptons seem to beg for some explanation in terms of excited states of some "preon" substructure. So far what we have is limits--nobody has seen any substructure yet, and not for want of trying.
Posted by: James ||
08/03/2009 15:18 Comments ||
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#11
Pretty awesome. Would have been nice if they'd cited a journal.
This article from Lawrence Berkeley does cite a journal, but it credits an LBL team for the discovery! The article's still maddeningly vague, though.
I've noticed that science articles outside my field are always either maddeningly vague, or impenetrably techincal. There doesn't seem to be anyone who can write in the middle. Perhaps it can't be done.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Two men were arrested in Abu Dhabi for swindling a large number of people with claims they possessed "magic powder" that doubled banknotes, a local newspaper reported on Sunday.
The men would show their victims what they said were the supernatural powers of the powder, which if sprinkled over banknotes in a bag, would double the amount, The National cited the interior ministry as saying.
" A massive number of people, not some, lost to them "
Maktoum al-Sharifi
After the victims handed over a large number of notes, the "magicians" would swap the money with fake notes covered with the powder, which lab tests showed consisted of flour and washing powder, the paper reported.
"A massive number of people, not some, lost to them," said Colonel Maktoum al-Sharifi, the director of the Criminal and Investigative Directorate, without saying how much money the men had swindled.
The two men were caught in an Abu Dhabi hotel after they played the trick on an undercover policeman posing as a potential customer, the paper added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Awesome. Let's all pitch in and bail them out, they're too talented to waste in a UAE jail.
[Bangla Daily Star] A Dhaka court yesterday sent Faisal Morshed Khan, son of former foreign minister M Morshed Khan, to jail in a corruption case in which he was earlier sentenced to ten years" imprisonment in absentia.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#6
Common sense has never been common, rhodesiafever. Surely you've noticed that in your personal experience? I myself have absolutely no common sense whatsoever, which sometimes makes Mr. Wife's life more interesting than he'd planned.
THOUSANDS of the worst families in England are to be put in "sin bins" in a bid to change their bad behaviour, Ed Balls announced yesterday.
The Children's Secretary set out £400million plans to put 20,000 problem families under 24-hour CCTV super-vision in their own homes. They will be monitored to ensure that children attend school, go to bed on time and eat proper meals.
Private security guards will also be sent round to carry out home checks, while parents will be given help to combat drug and alcohol addiction.
Around 2,000 families have gone through these Family Intervention Projects so far. But ministers want to target 20,000 more in the next two years, with each costing between £5,000 and £20,000 -- a potential total bill of £400million.
Ministers hope the move will reduce the number of youngsters who get drawn into crime because of their chaotic family lives, as portrayed in Channel 4 comedy drama Shameless.
Sin bin projects operate in half of council areas already but Mr Balls wants every local authority to fund them. He said: "This is pretty tough and non-negotiable support for families to get to the root of the problem. There should be Family Intervention Projects in every local authority area because every area has families that need support."
But Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said: "This is all much too little, much too late.
"This Government has been in power for more than a decade during which time anti-social behaviour, family breakdown and problems like alcohol abuse and truancy have just got worse and worse."
Mr Balls also said responsible parents who make sure their children behave in school will get new rights to complain about those who allow their children to disrupt lessons.
Pupils and their families will have to sign behaviour contracts known as Home School Agreements before the start of every year, which will set out parents' duties to ensure children behave and do their homework.
The updated Youth Crime Action Plan also called for a crackdown on violent girl gangs as well as drug and alcohol abuse among young women.
But a decision to give ministers new powers to intervene with failing local authority Youth Offending Teams was criticised by council leaders. Les Lawrence, of the Local Government Association, said they did "crucial" work and such intervention was "completely unnecessary".
#3
Parabellum, there were good old days like that.
For some.
For others, growing up was hell. I don't mean the hand-wringing, post-existential type of "hell" that modern day progressives discuss in which they were forced to grow up in middle-class suburbs.
I mean, hell, as in abusive, nasty, negligent parents. It's always been thus -- a certain proportion of people have no business creating children but they do nonetheless. One need not go back as far as Dickens to find examples.
Child abuse and neglect is and has been a problem from before recorded history began. It's always going to be with us. I'm not sure that putting cameras in homes is the right thing to do -- in fact, I'm pretty sure it isn't.
But the "good old days" weren't for some.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/03/2009 11:19 Comments ||
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#4
Here's an idea. How about they put them in jail when they break the law?
#7
Most parents are doing a good enough job to be going on with. It sounds like these 20,000 families are the worst of the worst, that 10% that cause 90% of the problems. If effective interventions can be implemented there, Britain's child welfare costs should go down significantly... and the children will have a chance to grow up to be reasonably productive and happy human beings. I think the correct interventions are being put in place, too: reasonable bedtime, so the children are able to function mentally and physically; actual school attendance, so the children have the possibility to learn, and learn they can't just float through life supported by the state; and proper meals, instead of living off cheese puffs and fizzy soda, and whatever drugs Mummy, Paul and Eddie left lying about after last night's binge.
The alternative is to take the children and place them with foster families. But we've had articles here about the kind of families British social workers are likely to place their charges with. It's a much better idea, if possible, to fix the families and keep them together. If this little experiment doesn't work, after all, fostering continues to be available as an alternative.
#8
This is asinine! The nanny state at it's worst. If the kids aren't going to school, have the school report the absence and deal with the truancy issue. If the parents are abusive to their children - they are breaking the law. Gather the evidence and deal with the problem legally.
Letting the state spy on people in their home 7x24 without court issued warrant should be anathema to anyone in a free society. Britain badly needs a bill of rights (and a government that will honor it).
[Dawn] Thousands of people have been placed under quarantine in a town in northwest China after a man died of pneumonic plague and 11 others were confirmed infected with the deadly lung infection, health authorities said.
The 32-year-old herdsman died in Ziketan in Qinghai province, the provincial health bureau said in a statement posted on its Web site Saturday. It did not say when he died.
Most of the others infected are relatives of the deceased and are in stable condition in a hospital, the bureau said.
The town of 10,000 people has been placed under quarantine and a team of experts has been sent to the area, it said.
Pneumonic plague is spread through the air and can be passed from person to person through coughing, according to the World Health Organization. It is caused by the same bacteria that occurs in bubonic plague -- the Black Death that killed an estimated 25 million people in Europe during the Middle Ages.
While bubonic plague -- which is usually transmitted by flea bite -- can be treated with antibiotics if diagnosed early, pneumonic plague is one of the deadliest infectious diseases. According to the WHO, humans can die within 24 hours of infection.
The Qinghai health bureau statement warned that anyone who has visited Ziketan and surrounding areas since July 16 and has developed a fever or a cough should seek treatment at a hospital.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Is it just me, or does it seem like China is a breeding ground for communicable diseases?
Can we expect a zombie virus to come out of there soon?
#3
Qinghai - middle of freaking nowhere. Like Wyoming, only without the charm. Yes, lots of diseases come from China because Dickensian-style poverty means that people spend an inordinate amount of time with their animals. The lure of indolence is strong to peasants, and the dream is to have enough stock so that one does not have to work.
[Jakarta Post] The Jakarta Police decided Sunday to extend for the second the detention of former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chief Antasari Azhar, who is accused of murder. Jakarta Police chief spokesman Sr. Comr. Chrysnanda told The Jakarta Post that Antasari will remain detained until Aug. 31, pending his trial for the alleged murder of director of PT Putra Rajawali Banjaran, Nasruddin Zulkarnaen, who was a KPK witness.
"We still have some perfecting to do with our charges against him, and that is why we have extended his incarceration again, that is to make our case flawless," Chrysnanda told the Post over the phone Sunday.
The extension came as a surprise, as the police had said that Antasari would stand trial in early August. The move has raised speculation that the police lack enough evidence to prosecute Antasari, a charge Chrysnanda has denied.
"This is not about us not having the evidence, but about how we can best use the evidence we have in court," he said.
Antasari's lawyer, Ari Yusuf Amir, criticized the extension, calling it a violation of human rights. He said the fact that the second request for extension was made on July 6, long before Antasari's first extension expired on Aug. 1, was a deliberately unfair.
The police may detain a suspect for 60 days before bringing their case to court, with extensions only available with a solid reason and with the court's permission.
"The police had until July 13 to bring his case to court, but a request to extend his detention was filed on June 1. The court granted the police that extension until Aug. 1," Ari said. "The weird thing is before that deadline is up, the police requested another extension, on July 6, which the court granted again.
"That means this extension was already planned, which violates the law, as an extension can only be given if it is deemed necessary."
Ari said his team had already sent an objection letter to the Jakarta High Court, saying that Antasari must be released if the police and prosecutors could not find the evidence to charge his client.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/03/2009 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Dawn] Thousands of people have been placed under quarantine in a town in northwest China after a man died of pneumonic plague and 11 others were confirmed infected with the deadly lung infection, health authorities said.
