> For a couple weeks now, my boss has been
> having frequent conversations with the
> borough police in regards to a certain "patron"
> of his store. See, there's this guy that comes
> in from time to time on the middle of the day,
> while my boss and his wife are in the back
> baking the cookies. He steals soups from the
> front freezer, then leaves. But that's not why my
> boss has been talking with the police.
>
> See, this man is a veteran of the Vietnam War.
> Possibly as a result of that, he's not all right in
> the head. Supposedly, he's a schizophrenic.
> Most worrisome to my boss is the day when
> this man said to my boss: "You know Joe, I
> like you, but if I saw you at night, I'd have to kill
> you." And the man was not joking around
> either...he was dead serious. Now, my boss is
> not concerned for *his* well-being...my boss
> is a big man, and he can take care of himself.
> Add in the fact that he's a butcher, and
> well...he knows how to use a knife, and he's
> got lots of them. What he's most concerned
> about is his family.
>
> See, he and his wife are both there all
> morning baking the cookies that get sent out
> to various gift basket places. My boss and his
> wife are not exactly the largest supporters of
> day care, so they bring their two children, a
> 3-1/2 year old girl and an 8 month old boy to
> the store. My boss's daughter has taken the
> habit of running up to the front of the store
> every time the door bell goes off to see who
> came in. So, my boss is worried about his
> daughter running up front if this guy comes in.
> He's also worried about his wife being left
> alone in the store when this guy comes in
> because my boss had to go run an errand. So
> my boss has been talking to the police about
> having this guy banned from the store. This
> guy's already been banned from one area
> store. The police told my boss that the next the
> guy came in to call 911 and the police would
> come to talk to this guy.
>
> So, last night, I'm in the kitchen in the back of
> the store finishing up preparing some stuffed
> cabbage rolls. I heard the door bell go off,
> indicating some one had entered, and, as is
> my habit, I walked out so I could see the front
> of the store, so I could see who had come in. I
> saw some man I did not recognize, so figured
> it was a new costumer, because I've been
> working there long enough to recognize most
> of the costumers. So I went and finished up
> my cabbage rolls.
>
> I put the cabbage rolls on the cart to take them
> up front and put them in the display freezer. As
> I passed by my boss's office, my boss hurried
> out and told me to just leave the cart here for
> now, that it was fine where it was. I was
> slightly confused, but figured my boss was
> jsut going to take them up front for me, or
> something, so I went into the back to clean up.
> My boss followed me back. When we got back
> there, my boss told me had just got off the
> phone with 911, because this guy who had
> come in was the guy my boss wanted out of
> the store. My boss said he told me to leave the
> cart in the middle of the store because my
> boss was afraid to have me up front with the
> guy. So now that I knew this was the guy, I was
> a little apprehensive of returning to the middle
> section of the store where I had been working
> before getting called to finish the cabbage
> rolls. So I lingered in the back tidying up, and
> flattening boxesm and what not. I could here
> my boss up front trying to strike up a
> conversation with the guy to keep him in the
> store long enough for the police to come.
> Eventually, I heard the door bell go off, and
> looked up to see a police officer walking into
> the store. I felt a little more comfortable
> returning to the middle of the store, so I went
> back to my previous job. I couldn't hear what
> the police officer said to the guy, but the cop
> followed the guy out of the store and started
> talking to him outside. My boss said it was
> now okay for me to put the cabbage rolls in the
> front freezer. As I did that, I saw two more
> police officers outside with the first cop and
> the guy. I put the rolls in the freezer, and the
> first cop came into the store to let my boss
> know that they had talked with him, and to
> make sure that his was the guy. My boss said,
> of course, that this was the guy, and thanked
> the police. The next time this guy comes into
> the store, my boss will call 911, and this time,
> the guy will be arrested.
>
> The rest of the evening proceeded without
> incident. Although, to be honest, I was a little
> apprehensive in my walk home, and did
> glance back over my shoulder a couple times.
> So I'm paranoid. Oh well.
>
> The Other "Thank God I live in a community
> where they can afford to send three cops out
> just for this" Matthew

Yup, he came back in today...

I was up front, loading up the pop and dairy cases. As I was doing so, I reopened a deep split on my knuckle, and started to bleed. I figured "Blood on food products is usually a Bad Thing, so I best go clean this and dress it." I went to the kitchen in the back to do just that. While I was back there, I heard the doorbell go off, indicating someone had come inside the store. Usually, I look to see who had just come in, but I was preoccupied at the moment, and thought nothing of it. When I was done repairing myself, I started back up front to finish loading the cases up. I was halfway there, when I saw The Crazy Guy (AKA Frank Something-or-other), standing there gesturing and speaking loudly (not really yelling, per se) at my boss.

My boss just stood there and calmly told the guy that he was not allowed to be in the store, that law enforcement had said so, etc, etc, etc. There was another customer up there, who just kind of stood out of the way, watching. Frank cooperated with my boss completely, saying things like "I love you, Joe!" (Joe = my boss), and "Well, I'll kill them! (the police officers who had said he wasn't allowed in here anymore). At one point, he made a gesture that my boss thought was a reach-for-a-gun-or-knife-kind-of gesture, but wasn't. If you can call that cooperating.

Anyways, I halted, did a 180, and went back in the kitchen to, essentially, hide from the guy. He left very shortly.

My boss called the local police station afterwards, and told them what had happened. They sent out a couple cops to talk to my boss. The cops told my boss that, basically, they couldn't do a whole lot unless the guy was there when they came. My boss said that he didn't think it very prudent to reach for a telephone in front of a very-unpredictable guy who wasn't allowed to be there.

So now the plan is: Frank comes in again, I head to the kitchen, pick up the phone and call 911. My boss distracts him and keeps in the store until the cops come, using force if necessary. (My boss is a big guy who can take care of himself.) And the guy gets brought up on harassment charges, I do believe.

The Other "My question is this: how different might this have worked out had I not re-cut my finger and not been up there, with my back turned to the door, when the guy came in? Scary stuff." Matthew