Fla. Sporting Goods Store Manager Fired For Stopping Criminal From Stealing Handgun

Nick Kangadis | July 13, 2018
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It’s becoming pretty clear that we have more and more of a backwards mentality in the U.S. these days. Criminals are victims, victims are questioned, and heroism is punished — depending on the intended narrative of the story.

The manager of Tallahassee Academy Sports in Florida made a heroic save at his store recently and on Tuesday 32-year-old Dean Crouch received recognition for his actions, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

He was fired.

Jason White entered the store on June 29, and he promptly went to the firearms counter to ask to see a handgun. Once White was shown the .40-caliber pistol, he bolted for the door in order to steal the firearm.

That’s when Crouch sprang into action.

Crouch heard another employee yell “Stop that man,” and — without hesitation — ran after and tackled White before he could get away.

White claims that he attempted to steal the gun, because he felt he was being targeted and wanted to protect himself from his alleged attackers.

Once captured, White was found to have the gun in question, five boxes of ammunition and two magazines. If that wasn’t enough, White had stolen two other handguns from a local pawn shop.

White — who seems like a fine upstanding citizen (that’s sarcasm) — showed no remorse for his actions, according to the police report.

“He repeatedly said ‘I stole and I admit to it’ and ‘I will steal again when I get out of jail,’” the report stated.

As for Crouch, he was terminated from his job. His attorney — Ryan Hobbs — says that his client is contemplating a wrongful termination lawsuit against the academy.

“Academy has decided to, instead of treating him like the hero he is, they terminated his employment effective immediately because he put his hands on Mr. White,” Hobbs said.

“While the incident ended without injury, actions inconsistent with corporate policies were taken,” Academy Sports spokeswoman Elise Hasbrook said. “We addressed the matter with the local store and individuals involved.”

Does it seem right to anyone that a man be fired from his job who stopped a criminal that was most likely going to get into a some kind of weaponized altercation in the near future? Yeah, I don’t think so either.

I’ll give the last word to Crouch’s attorney.

“My instincts tell me they are concerned more about people like Mr. White suing them for being stopped in the course of a theft than they are about rewarding or acknowledging in a positive manner that Mr. Crouch may have saved lives,” Hobbs said.

For video of the story, watch below:

H/T: The Blaze

(Cover Photo: Leon County Sheriff's Office)

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