Rutland man indeed loses his job for defending himself and the store

This past Tuesday, we reported on an attempted armed robbery in which a store clerk drew his concealed firearm to scare off the suspect. Because of the chain’s “Gun Free Zone Policy”, the clerk was suspended until they could decide what to do.

We have just learned that the clerk, 58-year-old Don Pitaniello, sat in a meeting with management and an agreement could not be reached. Pitaniello decided that the best course of action would be to hand in his resignation. We assume that Pitaniello’s side of the negotiations went something like this: If I stay here as an employee, I will still carry my firearm to which they likely replied We cannot allow that, it goes against our store policy.

A representative for the store stated that “Their policies are customary for the convenience store industry”. Our response to this is really quite simple. If this is a customary policy for convenience stores, how about changing that policy since many convenience stores are targeted so often?

During Pitaniello’s meeting with management, he asked what they were actively doing to keep employees safe, since that particular store has been robbed on several occasions. He even volunteered to get certified for a guard position, but they apparently declined.

Good for you, Don. You chose your live and rights over a job and that is a commendable thing.

H/T WCAX