VA-ALERT: VCDL to hold protests at Autozone stores!

[OakRidgeStars]

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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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AUTOZONE PUTS POLICY OVER LIVES

Last week an armed robber entered an Autozone in Yorktown and took over the store. An Autozone employee, Devin McLean, was in the perfect position to flee the store unnoticed and did so.

Devin could have just stayed outside and let everyone inside the store fend for themselves (and possibly be hurt or murdered). Instead, he ran to his vehicle, got his Glock handgun, and charged back into the store to protect the customers and employees!

And he did just that. Upon seeing Devin, the criminal threw his hands up and ran from the store.

Devin remained cool throughout - no shots were fired, no one was hurt.

His manager and coworkers thanked him for his brave deed. (Devin was the only one to stand up to this robber who had robbed that very Autozone before, as well as dozens of other stores.)

York County Sheriff Danny Diggs said that Devin was a hero. Sheriff Diggs, as usual, is outstanding in the Fox News story below. None of the usual "police spokesperson" crap about, "We don't suggest anyone do this. Leave such things to law enforcement." Be prepared to cheer when you see the Sheriff's quotes!

So how did Autozone thank this brave and selfless employee? A bonus perhaps? A plaque?

NO, Corporate FIRED HIM!

They used the excuse of having a zero-tolerance (read zero-intelligence) policy against employees being armed.

They would rather have a store full of dead employees and customers than to make an exception for someone like Devin, who did not bring a gun into the store until he stopped that robbery.

Below are various stories on this event and some video. In the video, the reporter asked Devin that now that he has been fired, if given the same circumstances again, would he do the same thing? WIthout missing a beat, Devin said, "yes!"

Here it is, right before Christmas, with his first child due in 3 weeks, and Devin is out of a job. And out of that job for being an outstanding human being.

The more I think about it, the more I believe that Autozone doesn't deserve an employee like Devin.

If any of you in the Yorktown area need an employee and would like to talk to Devin, send me an email and I will put you in touch with him.


THE PROTESTS

VCDL will hold a protest at 3 different Autozone locations in the next couple of weeks: Yorktown, Colonial Heights (regional manager's location), and Hopewell. VCDL will get some signs printed up for protesters to hold while standing in front of the stores. Our goal will be to inform the public about Autozone's shameful treatment of a hero, putting policy before the safety of customers and workers.

*** Once the dates for the protests have been set, I will advise you here in VA-ALERT so you can participate ***


LET'S CONTACT AUTOZONE AND SHARE OUR THOUGHTS!

In the meantime, if you would like to share your thoughts with Autozone, their comments page is here:

http://tinyurl.com/arvfbgf

Their facebook page is here:

https://www.facebook.com/autozone

Be polite, but firm.


COVERAGE OF STORY

Video coverage:

From WTKR.com: http://tinyurl.com/c4tmlne

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Other coverage, including national coverage:


From theblaze.com: http://tinyurl.com/a6ldhrv

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From foxnews.com: http://tinyurl.com/bgcmaqs

AutoZone Fires Worker Who Stopped Robbery Dec 4, 2012

By Todd Starnes

An AutoZone worker who stopped an armed robbery by retrieving a weapon from his truck said he was fired by the company for violating their gun policy.

Devin McLean and his store manager were about to close the AutoZone in York County, Va. when a gunman barged into the store.

“He pulled a gun from his waist band and demanded me and my manager go back into the office,” McLean told Fox News.

At some point, McLean was left in a restroom while the gunman made the manager open the store safe. That’s when McLean, a 23-year-old Air Force veteran, bolted through a side door and ran to his truck.

He returned through the front door holding a Glock 40 – pointed directly at the masked robber.

“I told him to freeze and to drop his weapon,” McLean told Fox News.

Instead, the robber took off – last seen running down the street from the store.

“I watched him run down the street,” he said. “I came back inside and made sure my manager was okay and he called the police.”

The York County Sheriff’s Dept. believes the bandit is responsible for as many as 30 robberies across the region.

“One of the officers asked why I didn’t shoot the robber,” McLean said.

Sheriff J.D. Diggs told Fox News he considers McLean to be a hero.

“He did a very brave thing,” the sheriff said. “He put himself in jeopardy in an attempt to make sure his friend was safe. He did a very brave thing.”

The part-time worker’s manager was especially thankful and credited McLean with saving his life.

But two days after the robbery – and just a week before Thanksgiving – McLean was fired.

Television station WTKR reported that McLean violated corporate policy by leaving the store and returning with a weapon.

The station spoke to a representative from the company’s corporate office who said they had a “zero tolerance policy for employees having weapons inside the store.”

An AutoZone spokesman told Fox News they will not discuss the matter.

“It was a surprise to me,” McLean said. “I did the right thing. I saved the company $2,000. I saved one of their manager’s lives – and you’re letting me go? It was a slap in the face.”

McLean said the firing came at a difficult time. He’s about to be a first-time father.

“We’re having a little boy,” he said. “I remember when the guy came in with that gun. My initial thought was I want to make it home to my family. I want to have the opportunity to meet my son and for my son to meet his dad. And for someone to come in and shove a gun in your face?”

So why not just keep running? Why go back inside the store – and risk your own life?

“I regard them as my family,” McLean said of his co-workers. “You’re not going to leave your brother or sister behind.”

It’s a lesson he learned in the Air Force.

“Never leave a man behind,” he said. “I’m not going to leave my brother in a room with a guy with a gun – that’s threatening his life.”

In spite of losing his job, McLean said his actions would be the same if it happened again.

“I wouldn’t change anything,” he said.

The sheriff said he was disappointed to hear that McLean lost his job on account of stopping the robbery.

“That’s certainly unfortunate,” he said. “They should be doing something to reward that young man instead of firing him.”

Sheriff Diggs said AutoZone has also sent an unintended message to the community.

“The company has now sent a message to every would-be robber out there – ‘Hey we’re open for business and unarmed. Come on in and take our money,’” he said.

Meanwhile, the backlash against AutoZone is spreading. Cam Edwards, of NRA News, called AutoZone’s decision an “injustice.”

“It may have been corporate policy to fire Devin McLean, but it’s also an injustice. He came to the aid of a fellow employee threatened by an armed robber and was canned. They should have named him employee of the year.”

He said the nation needs more people like McLean.

“He had the chance to run away but instead he chose to arm himself with his legally owned gun and save the life of his supervisor,” Edwards told Fox News. “Wouldn’t we all like to work with someone like Devin?”

Customers have launched a boycott against the company on Facebook and a petition has been started urging them to rehire McLean.

“There’s a Pep Boys right around the corner,” one irate customer wrote on Facebook.



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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.

VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]