Let the police handle danger
Yes, it worked out perfectly.
When two desperate felons suddenly turned up in the parking lot of Goodies Conoco convenience store on the morning of Jan. 30, potential victims became stubborn heroes.
Frances Olson refused to walk away and let her car be stolen. Cashier Travis Morris saw the attempted carjacking in progress, bolted from the store and subdued convicted felon Dwight Higgins.
Help arrived, Higgins and partner Victoria Calloway were carted off to jail — so order was restored.
Morris, Olson and some other helpers thus were entitled to feel as though they’d faced down two criminals and won the battle.
Good for them, truly, but ...
The course of action taken that day is not recommended.
Please, please don’t think that’s the manner in which you have to respond when faced with people intent on committing a crime.
Frankly, it’s a good way to get killed.
YEARS ago when I was in college, I worked part-time as a liquor store clerk.
The very first thing the owner of the place told me was this: “If someone comes in the door and makes it clear he wants to rob you, give him everything — the money in the register, all the bottles he wants, your watch, whatever.”
I was surprised by the instructions, especially since the owner kept a sawed-down baseball bat under the counter for protection.
“Forget that,” he said. “Look, the store and the stock are insured. But I can’t put in a claim for your life if you get shot.”
That advice came right back to me when I heard about the incident at Goodies Conoco.
The truth is that Frances Olson probably should have given up her car. Travis Morris would have been smart to stay clear of the felons until they’d taken the vehicle and disappeared.
As it happened, everyone wound up safe that day — but it could have ended tragically.
Olson and Morris essentially gambled that two criminals, clearly desperate and on the run, did not have weapons — or if they did, they wouldn’t use them.
That’s generally not a great bet.
“I’m not saying (Olson and Morris) were wrong that day, because it worked out and the two suspects are in custody with no one getting hurt,” said Lee White, Coeur d’Alene chief of police.
“Every situation is different, and if you’re 100 percent sure the person you’re going to confront isn’t armed, then it can become a successful citizen’s arrest. But it’s very, very difficult to know for sure that a person doesn’t have a weapon, and that changes everything.”
WHITE indicated citizens definitely have a role to play when they see a potential crime in progress.
“We’d rather you become a fantastic witness rather than a participant,” he said. “Call 911 immediately, explain what’s happening, then provide the best descriptions you can when officers arrive.
“Help us that way. You might get your car or purse or anything else back if you let it go, but you can’t get your life or your health back if it turns out the perpetrators are armed.
“There are plenty of guns in the wrong hands, and there could be a terrible result if you misjudge the situation you think you’re seeing. Be safe first, and let us take it from there.”
Carjacking obviously is a particular terror, and White offered the strongest possible advice.
“Do not let yourself be caught in the car with anyone,” he said. “That’s the very worst scenario. Get away and give up the car.”
In other words, just as that liquor store owner told me long, long ago: Don’t be a hero. Get out of it alive.
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Steve Cameron is a special assignment reporter for The Press. Reach Steve at [email protected].