Rossville pharmacist armed: Robbers willing to kill for pain meds have druggists defending themselves
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2013/aug/11/pharmacists-fight-back/
From the article:
A shotgun hangs for all to see behind the counter at Longley’s Pharmacy in Rossville.
“I have it here as a subliminal reminder that I do have a weapon,” pharmacist Jerry Grimmitt said.
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Some media reports have said that chain pharmacies are easy targets, since corporations are loath to install bulletproof glass at counters or allow employees to be armed. The Minneapolis City Pages reported in 2010 that two-thirds of the past five years’ robberies were at Walgreens but corporate officials didn’t want to install bulletproof glass because they wanted pharmacies to appear “open and inviting.”
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“Most independent pharmacies have some kind of protection, whereas the chain stores can’t,” Grimmitt said.
As part of her research, Shelley interviewed pharmacy robbers in prison in Ohio and Florida to understand why they did it and what pharmacies can do to protect themselves.
“Some of them say they don’t target mom-and-pop pharmacies because they are concerned they’re armed. A gun is definitely a deterrent for some but not all offenders,” Shelley said.
Jesse Vivian, a professor of pharmacy at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich., who’s written about pharmacy robberies, doesn’t think there’s an easy solution. Law enforcement could be increased and pharmacies can step up security, he said.
“I’m not sure that the problem is ever going to be totally eliminated,” Vivian said. “You can’t just say ‘We’re not going to stock it.’ Then what do you do for legitimate patients that do need it?
Another example of when the PIC is REALLY IN CHARGE – as in being a independent – they can take care of protecting themselves against robbers… When a RPH works for a chain… the people who are making decisions about the Rx dept staff’s safety… the decisions made … on what to do or not do… does not put their own asses at risk! Which apparently makes it pretty easy to decide on extremely “passive” deterrents.. like video cameras…
Filed under: General Problems
My first thought was it was Rossville IN then realized my living so close to Rossville I would had heard about it. I know alot of these criminals have been in and out of the system so much they’re immune to pepper spray, anyone know if bear repellant spray would work….since apparently we cant be trusted with firearms. I strongly believe in the 2Nd amdendment and I just dont see cameras being any sort of protection from the bad guys. REMEMBER WHEN SECONDS COUNT,THE POLICE ARE ONLY MINUTES AWAY,.