There’s a fine line between being a hero and becoming a victim.
Last week an unsuspecting grocer tackled a masked and armed robber who had just demanded the drug Oxycontin from pharmacy staff at the Okotoks Sobeys.
The man, who hasn’t spoken to the press or looked for credit or even thanks for his actions, is being called a hero by police and by the store’s owner, who also jumped on the suspected robber and helped hold him down until officers arrived. In the same breath, though police are calling for caution when it comes to civilians taking down criminals.
In fact they are asking people not to do it.
They say give a robber what he or she wants and send them on their way as quickly as possible. Record as many details as possible mentally and if possible get information about their vehicle and write down their licence plate number.
In this case in particular there were many dangers. The suspect is presumably a drug addict who could have been A) high or B) really, really wanting to get high.
When a person is desperate enough and irrational enough to hold up pharmacies to get drugs it is likely they are just as desperate and irrational when it comes to making their escape.
The person arrested also was found to have what was described as kitchen knife. However, when the Sobeys’ customer and owner landed on the masked man they didn’t know he had a knife.
They reacted on instinct. Sobeys owner Dave Gilbert said he planned to follow him out of the store and collect information like the make of his car and licence plate number, but when the customer jumped on the robber, instincts took over.
Who wouldn’t think ‘I need to stop that guy’ when they see a man wearing a balaclava running away?
Without this citizen’s actions, this suspect could still be on the streets, and after 10 such robberies over the last year everyone’s nerves are frayed.
But police are warning it could have come at a much greater cost. A young person who was just minding his own business at a grocery store and obviously has a penchant for good deeds could be dead. Or a local business owner with two young kids at home, who has recently gone through a very tough ordeal following a serious car crash, could not be returning home.
It’s a tough call, but everyone should think about it carefully before they decide if they want to be a hero.
