AutoZone Fires USAF Veteran for Stopping Robbery

Originally Posted by SouthArk370Z

True, the kid behind the counter probably doesn't care, but, if enough ppl say something, maybe he will say something to his boss, who will mention it to his boss, ... and it will get to the top.


It was as the store was closing, no mention was made of any patrons being present, and the guy is well-trained on when and how to use a handgun.


He did break the rules when he brought the gun into the store - no arguing with that - but let's get real, the guy did what any person should do. I'm sure that there is a company that will hire him soon (if for nothing else than the good publicity), but it still ain't right to fire someone for doing the right things; no matter what the rules may be. YMMV

Originally Posted by Red__Zed

They didn't really fire him for violating the firearms policy.

They fired him for violating the "don't be a hero" policy that every store has. If you think Autozone is going to change that policy based on a weeklong bitchfest...well...look at the number of times something has happened at places like Target, Costco, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy. The legal environment doesn't allow them to change their policies even if they wanted to.

I guarantee from a PR perspective they'd rather not fire the kid, but image is image, and giving the impression that you want your employees stopping robberies can cost millions of dollars a year.

Originally Posted by SouthArk370Z

I understand that the policies exist, have existed for a long time (I was told to "Don't resist, just give 'em the money. Heck, give 'em your underwear if they want it - we'll buy you new ones. We're insured!" back in the '70s), and that there are very good reasons for the policies (don't want to get sued if someone gets hurt, don't want someone killed, &c).
But there are exceptions to every rule. Based on what I have seen, I'd say this is an exceptional case.