Another Pizza Hut employee defends his life

The Charlotte Observer and WCNC (among others) are reporting today that a Pizza Hut employee defended his life – and that of a co-worker – when he opened fire on three would-be robbers in their store.

According to the stories, the two Pizza Hut employees were closing up for the night when three men entered the store, two of whom were carrying handguns. The three attackers ordered the two employees into the walk-in cooler. At that point, one of the attackers began beating one of the employees. The other employee drew his personal weapon and fatally shot two of the attackers. The third attacker managed to escape, although police believe he may have been shot as well.

Leading employees to a cooler is “modus operandi” for robbers who wish to ensure that their victims cannot retaliate or escape – or in the worst case scenario, where they prefer to murder the employees. Fortunately for the two employees, one of them was prepared to resist the attack and not go down without a fight. He was able to successfully remove two wolves from the gene pool, with the third potentially rethinking how badly he wants to continue with robbery as a means of making ends meet.

For Des Moines residents, this is yet another Pizza Hut employee story with a happy ending for the good guys. It was in 2008 that Pizza Hut delivery driver James Spiers was robbed at gunpoint while delivering a pizza to an apartment on the city's southeast side. Mr. Spiers was subsequently fired for defending his life and narrowly missing an opportunity to remove a criminal from the population.

There is no mention in either story about the disposition of the employee. It is reported, however, that he is a former law-enforcement officer. It will be interesting to see what Pizza Hut's response is to this attack. They want to provide a “safe environment” for their employees and customers, yet as usual, the criminals ignore the chain's request to promote safety.

It is time for Pizza Hut - and all other employers, for that matter - to reconsider the archiac idea that employees who carry a firearm for self protection are a greater liability for the company.  In this case, we might have been reading a much different story from Charlotte.  In 2008, Mr. Spiers might have been a statistic of an armed robbery, instead of still being alive to lead a productive life.

How many other instances of armed citizens doing the right thing have to be given before employers understand that they cannot protect their employees at all times?  More importantly, when will insurance companies also come to their senses and stop penalizing employers by asking for higher rates when it is discovered that there are no anti-carry policies in place?

To Mr. Spiers - it has been two years, but kudos to you for doing the right thing back then.  Apparently, some of your former fellow employees also believe their right to life outweighs a criminal's right to make a living.