Not in my job description
posted by davel on April 22, 2004
This was in my email when I came to work last night. It was written by last nights shifty [the names have been changed to protect the innocent.]
So......to start this is not a joke.
At about 9:30 or so on the Wednesday night [Security officer] alerted me that there
was a S.W.A.T. team outside the store. She informed me that they had
someone in the store with a high powered rifle. He was looking for a man
that they believed was in store who was armed with a bomb. They planned
to shoot him down. We were told that we would have to evacuate the store
if the situation escalated in a manner where we would be able to do so
(although I have no idea how this would be done).
The officer found saw somebody who fit the description and went outside
the store to confer with his team. He came back in to follow the man and
planned to apprehend him when he left the store if possible. He
instructed [Security Officer] and myself to not make eye contact with the man, so
we walked around and pretended to act natural. The man finally paid for
his groceries and went to the parking lot where he was apprehended by
the main officer. The customer was searched and released.
The officer came back in and told me that there has been bomb threats to
the consulate accross the street from us (at 1000 California) and that
they had caught somebody before trying to bomb the building. They felt
that since the parking garage at 1000 California was locked that he was
in our store.
The officer wanted me to inform our security and our leadership that in
the event of a large police prescence accross the street, to be on the
lookout for a Vietnamese or Chinese male about 5'5, and to contact the
police if we see anything suspicious.
So yeah.....that sucked.
So [Security Officer] just called me while I am typing this and said that the
officer returned to the store to tell us that the caught the person that
they were looking for. I'll have his badge number and his card if you
have any further questions about this. So I guess that whole a bit about
keeping a lookout doesn't matter but I don't have the energy to edit the
email.
Feel free to call me if you have any questionsor pressing
concerns......but I'll be in anyhow tomorrow to do an ecolab order.
The officer's name is [Officer Wiggims] with the SF SWAT team.
[Shifty]
Damnation! I can empathise. Retail is bad enough without having to deal with bomb threats and SWAT teams. You still having to do closing shifts?
In related suck news, at our store last week, a woman handed a clerk a note that said "I have a gun, etc.., etc." in the middle of the lunch rush. Fortunately, the clerk was able to call the DPS Ranger they have on security detail and he promptly busted her and had her riding away with Austin's finest within a 5 minute timeframe. Crazy, scary shit.
Posted by: Krayon Scribbel at April 22, 2004 12:11 PM