Bank Robbery Intervention, Good Or Bad?

[twyacht]

Caught this story, and vid. Thumbs up that no one was hurt, and the robbery was thwarted. Happened this week in Wisconsin.

But IMHO, things could have gone real wrong, real quick.   What defines a Good Samaritan in this case?

Thoughts? Good Idea? or Very Bad Idea? Robber got away, empty handed, but what if?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/crime-scene/around-the-nation/video-customer-foils-bank-robb.html

[Ichiban]

What a maroon!  Stooooopid!

He could easily have gotten the teller shot with that stupid stunt.  If you feel that you absolutely have to do something in this situation, your first concern should be getting control of the gun.  Again, Stooooopid.

[Porkmeal]

Stupid move.  It's just money and banks have insurance.  He could have just as easily caused the robber to flinch and shoot the teller.  Since he didn't do anything to control the gun, he could have been shot himself. 

[2HOW]

It didn't look like a real gun to me.

[Pathfinder]

Very stupid move. At the least, 2 people should be dead, and would have been if the robber were even halfway a pro. The 2? The teller and the maroon who jumped him.

[Sponsor]

[fightingquaker13]

Agreed with the above. Very rarely is anyone shot in a bank hold up as everyone knows the drill. No muss, no fuss, even money bet as to whether robber catches a dye pack. Playing the odds, I wouldn't escalate it like that.

BUT....BUT, what really pisses me off is the guy who watched it all play out and did nothing. Granted, doing nothing would be my first impulse, but once Captain America turns it into a wrestling match for the gun? Piling on seems like the right (and smart) thing to do. Its not just watching a guy walk away from a robbery. Now, someone is fighting for his life against an armed thug. Stupid or not, its seems that honor would demand that you jump in here. You can punch "our hero" in the face later for dragging you into it, but once its on, no room for neutrals. Am I wrong here?
FQ13

[m25operator]

Would have had to been there to give a good answer, his move stupid as it was not controlling the gun, once away from the teller, I don't know, disarming and wrestling the guy to the ground, maybe, full nelson instead of a neck break, the neck break takes about the same move and gets someones attention fast, I have had it done to me and instant panic about your body takes over. Seems like it all came out in the end, but a hard judgement call.. If I thought I could contribute without getting anyone else hurt, then Maybe. Just maybe.

[Hazcat]

IF ya want to be a 'hero' pull yer own piece, stick it in his ear and PULL THE TRIGGER!  If ya ain't gonna do that, then let it alone!

[tombogan03884]

Bank robbers are just like us, they want to get their money and get the f*ck out of there, Like others have commented, some one else's, insured money isn't even worth the robber getting hurt. I agree with both FQ's comments.
If some one else acts, you can't very well leave him out to dry.

[Rob10ring]

I agree with staying the hell out of it, but I wasn't there. Maybe the guy seemed panicky like he seemed sure to shoot the teller and the bystander felt compelled to save her. He obviously had the element of surprise on the goblin, as bad guy was completely oblivious to samaritan's approach. It didn't appear that the gun was controlled, so at least that was stupid. In the end, most of the desired outcome was achieved. While there may have been mistakes, it's good to see that there are people willing to take risks for others. This may be a good example of how Americans won't allow hijackers to take our planes again. Let's roll!