Not today!
Face it, we’ve all made that proclamation a time or two, whether at home to kids or spouses or at work to an irritating colleague.
Of course, most of us haven’t done so to a man standing before us suggesting he had a gun and demanding drugs.
That is, of course, what the pharmacist at the Rite Aid in Pittsfield did on Tuesday.
When the would-be robber walked into the store at 11 a.m. and handed over the note saying he had a gun and wanted drugs, it was the third time an area Rite Aid had been robbed in just over a month. The other two were in neighboring Newport on Aug. 16 and Sept. 15.
On Tuesday this pharmacist was having none of it.
“Not today,” she said.
And with that, the husky fellow with his face covered by a yellow-and-blue bandanna simply turned and walked out the door.
It’s a great story.
Worthy of at least one movie scene.
Most of us had no idea who the pharmacist was, what she looked like, how old she was or her personal history.
But some of us spent at least a minute or two imagining it.
I did. And in my head she was a middle-aged, menopausal women, navigating her way through a new world of hot flashes, irritability and sleeplessness.
Never mind why it was that scenario I came up with.
Police have arrested a Dixmont couple and charged them with the Newport robberies and suspect they also are responsible for Tuesday’s fiasco in Pittsfield.
Many of you who commented on the story on the BDN website also admired the pharmacist’s spunk and courage. It’s a good story, especially since Tuesday’s attempted robbery was the 40th to occur in the state this year.
But, of course, the reality is that the brave pharmacist took a chance that almost any seasoned law enforcement officer would say is not worth taking.
“I assume she might get sent to a refresher course on how to deal with such a circumstance,” one law enforcement officer said, “because it is not at all what they are instructed to do.”
Armed robberies of pharmacies have skyrocketed throughout the country, and some have turned deadly. While none has in Maine, it is that exact concern that has pharmaceutical officials and police scurrying to find ways to combat the growing, dangerous trend.
On June 19, 2011, a pharmacist, a clerk and two customers were killed during an armed robbery in Medford, N.Y. Last year, a pharmacist in Oklahoma City was convicted of murder in the death of a 16-year-old who tried to rob his store. On New Year’s Eve, a federal agent picking up his father’s cancer medication at a pharmacy was accidentally killed by a retired police officer during a robbery attempt at the pharmacy. The suspect also was killed.
Last May, a pharmacist in Wheeling, W. Va., shot and killed an armed man trying to rob his store. The shooting was deemed justifiable. In September 2010, a 27-year-old store clerk was shot to death after a gunfight broke out when two armed robbers held up a pharmacy in North Highland, Calif. Last week, a pharmacist in New Jersey fired his gun at a man trying to rob the store. No one was hurt, but the pharmacist immediately expressed regret for firing the gun, saying, “I could have hit a child.”
Tapes from surveillance cameras at pharmacies around the country have made their way onto the Internet and show pharmacists chasing would-be robbers away with pepper spray and guns.
Clearly, being a pharmacist is not what it used to be.
Roy McKinney, director of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, said this week that the threat of armed robbery can take its toll on employees.
“It used to be it was more of a concern at banks, but now pharmacy employees are in the same, if not worse, position,” he said. “Having a note passed to you by a person claiming to have a gun is an upsetting thing, whether you see a gun or not.”
The day after Tuesday’s robbery in Pittsfield, law enforcement officers and pharmacy officials met again, continuing to seek ways to lessen the threat and to keep pharmacy employees and customers safe.
But in truth, the real solution likely lies with the 17-member Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force, which is charged with trying to find a way to get a grip on the exploding prescription drug abuse problem in the state.
In the meantime, pharmacists, employees and customers need to be vigilant and smart, but not heroes. If not, unfortunately today just may be the day when more than a bottle full of pills is lost.
I can see a time (now perhaps) when it may be necessary to have a pharmacy in its own building with its own security. Ridiculous at the turn of events. Who could blame the pharmacist, too bad she couldn’t of slapped him silly before he turned to leave.
That was a stupid thing for this pharmacist to do. It wasn’t cute, it wasn’t brave, it wasn’t spunky or courageous. It was just plain stupid. By doing what she did she put herself strictly at the mercy of the drug seeking armed robber. At that moment HE was the one deciding her future and whether she lived or died. Not to protect the store inventory, but for her own protection I believe she should have acted like she was reaching for some Oxycontin and instead came up with a .45 and double tapped a few rounds center mass into the perp. But in the absence of any means of self-defense her simple refusal to give the guy what he wanted was just plain stupid. Just plain and utterly stupid.
Sometimes in the moment, words come to mind when something like this is happening, and immediately they are spoken, sometimes without our will to stop them. I can see what may have happened to her, it has happened to me before- when I worked at a Bank in Canada. A man came to my window and passed me a note – I said YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING!!! He turned and left – I took the note to the boss who called the police, and then I think I passed out!! This actually did happen!!!
Excellent point. “Not Today” is an interesting response reported from the media. Although those may have been the words used they have two completely separate meanings.
If he handed her the note and she pointed her comment at him and said “NOT TODAY!” that is one thing.
If he handed her the note and she quitely shreaked “not TOday” directed at no one, in fear as she was confused on the next step, that is a another.
Either way, so glad these drug addict scumbags are off the street. What I don’t understand though is that the city council voted in 3 methadone clinics so crime like this in the greater Bangor area would stop but all it has done is go up.
The methdone clinics are causing the problem, not fixing it. They need to go.
Maybe we can send them to Brewer, the same place we plan on sending our concert noise. I am ashamed of the actions of a few in this city and it’s about to get pretty loud from a pretty large group of people.
As soon as we get our fireworks store up and running, we’ll be exporting some noise back at you guys. We built two fairly expensive brick walls that welcome folks to Brewer as they enter from the Chamberlain Bridge. However -out on the Bar Harbor Road vacationers from every state will see a southern states like- cheesy fireworks store just before they jump on 395 and head for home. Go figure. At least Bangor councilors didn’t make that blunder. On top of that- starting in about 2 months people will be getting hurt and probably killed as they try to turn left from this location at 972 Wilson Street. I know I’m bragging-but Brewer makes way worse decisions than Bangor.
I dont think that she is a hero for doing this but I think that she did speak before she thought about it and it was too late by then. She is dang lucky he didn’t have a gun but it shows that at least around here they probably don’t have a gun. I mean how many robberies has there been lately where people claim they have a gun demanding pills and money and have gotton away with it? They are just all learning from one another how to do it! I really hope that they did catch who did this because if I was this pharmacist I would be afraid wondering if the same person would come back in and actually do something to her. I think it’s great that this time it worked but next time could be deadly. I was shocked and thought for a moment “great job telling him not today” then I thought about it and think shes freakin lucky!
Being a slave to your fears can make you a victim too.
I remember reading about one like this a year or two ago, the teller at a bank told this guy she “really didn’t have that much money” and he just walked out the door.
A shorter version of the article over at the Press Herald: http://www.pressherald.com/news/Yarmouth-police-charge-man-with-bank-robbery.html
“Armed robberies of pharmacies have skyrocketed throughout the country,
and some have turned deadly. While none has in Maine, it is that exact
concern that has pharmaceutical officials and police scurrying to find
ways to combat the growing, dangerous trend. ”
stop letting physicians prescribe copious amounts of psychotropicdrugs, stimulants, pain killers, and other narcotics. Stop letting the pharmecuitical companies run the country. They are just a legal drug cartel and instead of an army of corner dealers and enforcers they have an army of pharmacists/MDS and lawyers.
The nice young man that walked into my son-in-law’s yard in Hampden last year around midnight and opened the door to the car got escorted out of the yard with a .45 automatic pistol securely planted in the base of his neck. He soiled himself. I suspect he won’t attempt to appropriate other people’s property again and has a newfound respect for adults. He’s a lucky kid and I bet his classmates at The Academy wondered why he was as white as a sheet for three days after……
In New York City, way way back in the 1950’s, some pharmacies had bullet proof glass between the clerk/pharmacist and the customer. There was a swivel canister (like a revolving door) where a customer put his money. the druggist put the prescription in the other side. when the canister was turned, the customer got his medication, and the store got it’s money.
It takes a whole bunch of sacrifice to create a civil society. If you let these guys and gals get away without possible consequences, you invite more of the same behavior. Personally, I am for arming and training pharmacists, convenience store clerks, gas station attendants, and bank tellers. Give them N.R.A. firearms training, and tacit permission to shoot (if they so choose) people who attempt robbery.
Yeah I know; Not very “civil”. It takes many steps to reach a goal. this is just the first one.
Too bad they would not protect the pharmacist like that around here!! There is no system like that in this area, and you are right — away from here they have the bullet proof glass and the carousel exchange for the prescripts & payments. I have travelled over most of the USA and have seen this in just about every other State – including Hawaii!!!
I would have preferred the pharmacist give him a prescription of hot lead.
OO Buck or 45 Hollow point to be exact.
Pharmacies should do what some of the chain C-Stores like Big Apple and Cumberland Farms do with money. Make it plainly known that narcotic drugs are locked in a vault, and that the person at the counter does not have access to them. It wouldn’t stop all robberies, but it would reduce their numbers when word got around.
If the drugs where in a vault and the pharmacist couldn’t get them, how would they fill a prescription?
I was thinking that the pain medications could be filled at certain times of the day only, so that most of the time they would not be accessible, like time locks at banks or some such thing. Probably not practical, actually.
If they stopped selling narcotics, there wouldn’t be an issue.
Naw that would cut off the income of some VERY influential people. When I was young a family friend told me “You’d be surprised who is involved in the drug trade around here. I was surprised when I saw this same friend’s name in the paper for coming across the border with 50K worth of Oxy.
Pretty soon, all pharmacies will have a setup like one small convience store in CT. This store keeps it’s doors locked. A customer must press a buzzer & face a camera before the clerk allows them to enter. This ensures a nice picture for the police in case the person has any plans to rob the store. For those that suggest the robber would simply take the tape with them, the tape machine is kept in a secure room & the image trasnmitted to it, thus making it impossible for the robber to destroy it. The clerk doesn’t even have access to it, only the store owner.
Another idea would be to have more cameras at the entrance to get multiple pictures of everyone entering & banning masks, scarves or hats that cover one’s face. I guess security guards will also soon be needed in pharmacies, at the door, to ensure these policies. There might be some people who would certainly oppose it, but look at the jobs that would be created.
Train them to use tranquilizer dart guns. Then we can watch the video of the would-be robber do a faceplant at the door, and the cops could simply pick him up/her and chuck him/her in the back seat. They wouldn’t have to call the swat team either. Just sayin’
Why oh why oh why,dosent someone make some oxy look-alikes, specificly for this reason? It could give te person who injests it explosive diarrhea,hideous stomach cramps and terrible flatulance?For days,not just hours.Make them horrendously ill for DAYS!!!!!Why not?