Usually when a Starbucks employee gets fired, it doesn't make national news. However, this particular instance is getting a lot of attention because the alleged termination comes after the employees successfully thwarted a robbery!
To many, Michael Harris and his coworker, Devin Jones-Ransom, are heroes. Yet, their bravery appears to have cost them their jobs.
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The incident took place at a Starbucks in Missouri. Two men, seemingly armed, entered the coffee shop and attempted a robbery.
“I thought I was gonna die that day. They walked in, announced that it was a robbery," Michael Harris recalled. "They started going up to people and frisking them for stuff."
The robbers wanted Michael to empty a cash register. However, he wasn't able to open it. One of the robbers then hit Michael in the head with his weapon but the gun broke into pieces.
“The trigger for it busted off,” Michael said.
That's when Michael and the others realized the weapon was fake. And in that moment, they decided to fight back.
One of the robbers took off, but Michael and his coworker, Devin, succeeded in subduing the other man. They kept him there until police were able to respond and take over the scene.
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The community hailed Michael and Devin as heroes, applauding them for stepping up and saving the day. However, according to Michael Harris, a few weeks after the thwarted robbery, the Starbucks employee got fired.
“They terminated me,” he said. He went on to allege, “They didn’t really give me a reason why I was terminated. They just told me I was, and I just had to accept it.”
Losing his job came as a complete shock. And it devastated the 20-year-old.
“That job was helping me pay for college,” Michael explained. “I just don’t understand it. I thought it was the right thing to do.”
Starbucks asserts that Michael and his coworker didn't follow the proper protocol to "de-escalate" the situation during the attempted robbery.
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“The safety and wellbeing of our partners (employees) and customers is always our first concern," the company said in a statement. "All partners are expected to follow our carefully crafted protocols to ensure the safety of customers and partners during these situations."
“At the time of hire," the statement continued, "and once a year thereafter, all partners go through de-escalation training. Part of that training includes armed robbery scenarios where partners are asked to comply with demands and to avoid doing or saying anything that can escalate the situation."
Now, Michael Harris is fighting back yet again. He has enlisted the help of attorney Ryan Krupp to a lawsuit against Starbucks because of the termination.
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"They didn’t create the dangerous scenario — they just did what they were supposed to do in that scenario," Ryan explained. "It happens fast. There’s no way that an individual can be faced with danger, attempted potential death of themselves or another, and then once they’ve been hit or downed, that they cannot defend themselves."
h/t: Christian Headlines
Featured Image Credit: Youtube/KSDK News
Mel is the senior writer for GodUpdates, finding, writing and sharing Christian, uplifting, and health-related stories from around the world. Mel has a passion for writing and graduated with a degree in English from Randolph-Macon College in Virginia. When she’s not researching and writing stories, Mel is very active in her church. You can usually find Mel playing board games with her husband and two young girls, giving someone a hug, or hunting down a good cup of coffee!