We’re pretty impressed that this member of the Washington Sports Clubs at the DC USA Mall helped catch a thief. We’re a little stunned, however, that the staff at the gym let the guy enter in the first place without making sure he had a membership, or that they did nothing to stop him as he ran out with someone behind him yelling, “Stop! Thief!” Thankfully an off-duty cop pursued and apprehended the guy, and the member got back his wallet. But what’s the point of a gym membership and a staff if you’re completely on your own once you get there?
Here’s how useless everyone was while the member tried to keep the thief from making off with his wallet:
When I went back the man was still there and fiddling with his black messenger bag. I immediately noticed that my lock was no longer on the locker and had been replaced with another one. I stopped the guy and said, “Hey you took things from lockers, didn’t you. Let me look in your bag.” He said no. Then he told me to leave him alone and stop bothering him. Then I grabbed at the bag, and he pushed me away and there was a scuffle. Something fell out of his bag and the guy seemed really worried. He pushed me away and ran off. I told the towel attendant to stop him, and he did nothing. I chased the thief as he was leaving and shouted, “This man is a thief, he has stolen people’s wallets from the locker room.” Again the WSC staff couldn’t have been more bored. The young woman at the reception desk let him go out. I chased him out, still calling “THIEF” and an off-duty metro policeman, bless his heart, chased the guy, who by this time was running. I went to the landing to shout to the security guy at the front door of the mall, “Stop that man in the white shirt and black pants, and demand to look in his bag. He has robbed me and others.” The security person saw who I was referring to but did nothing. The thief ran out the door.
[...]
What I found most appalling was the fact that a) WSC staff are not doing ID checks on people going into the lockerrooms or entering the gym b) the staff seemed a little blase about the incident, and seemed to think this was an all’s well that end’s well affair c) the supposed “Security” people at the door of the mall are just there for decoration. I gave 30 seconds advance notice, shouting, of the thief’s approach, and security did everything but hold the door for him d) off-duty cops can be very brave and e) the MPD’s protocol for taking notes and filing reports appears, for now, efficient. The thief is to be charged with Theft (1) “if the case goes forward.”
If you’re a member of a gym, you might want to show them this story and remind them to check memberships and be aware of who comes in and out. (Try not to add, “Or you know, just do your job.”) Unless they’re offering some weird new workout class, bolt cutters are not required equipment for a trip to the gym.
“Thief Caught At Washington Sports Club in DC USA Mall Saturday Afternoon” [Prince Of Petworth] (Thanks to Alex!)
(Photo: Fristle)
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Update: Was back at the gym last night and they had a sign up at the counter informing members about what happened. It said the guy WAS a member, and that his membership has been revoked. So either a)all the talk about them letting someone in without an ID was wrong and the OP was confused/making shit up, or b)the gym managers are the ones making shit up, to cover their asses. Hmm.
@Princess Leela: I bet this blog and the comments on the original report shamed them into it…
You could write to your local municipalities and try to revoke the laws that protect the criminals in these incidents. Or to write new laws to protect well-meaning good Samaritans, so that if someone decided to trip this potential thief or clothesline him or use any one of their magical vigilante Bat-gadgets, that the person shouting “Thief” catches all the flak.
“I didn’t know he was going to drop-kick that guy and break his arm so that it goes in 3 unnatural directions when I cried ‘Triple-homicide-rapist-petty-larceny-thief!’”
“Well, now you’ll think twice, eh?”
Hell, I took a First-Aid/CPR class and first half of the first class consisted of our teacher telling us how he was brought into court for using an AED on a woman having a heart attack. Why? Because, the technological wonder known as the automated emergency defibrillator doesn’t work through clothes and he had to rip open the center part or her shirt (to place the pads on the top right part of the breast and the left side of the torso). He was brought up on sexual harassment charges by the husband.
The charges were ultimately dropped by the judge without it going to court. The woman was grateful and had no part in pressing charges. Considering she had a nipple piercing and electricity + metal in flesh = burn, you’d think she’d have more of an actual case and therefore it’s worth pursuing.
He saved a life and all he got for it was a bullseye on his back. Granted, he must have felt some vindication and a sense of well-being when he heard about how the judge told his lawyer, “Don’t even bring him in for this crap.” But we live in a litigation-happy culture that encourages this frivolous crap.
Tried to add this to my comment but the link didn’t come out so here is the redo:
Seriously they have no problem acting like they are one fabulous gift when they are
trying to sell you something or trying to get you to join! God forbid they make themselves useful when someone else needs it.
Theft at WSC is a constant problem — I have to believe it’s often due to inside jobs, or people who get trial memberships in order to get in the locker room.
When my pants (with wallet inside) were stolen a couple years back, I tried to get my WSC to reimburse me for the lost cash ($40). No dice. WSC isn’t responsible for anything you bring into the gym.
Fortunately it was summer, so walking home in my shorts wasn’t so bad. But I did like those pants.
Everyone should quit. WSC sucks it.
This happened to me a week and a half prior and the staff were of no help. My lock was replaced with another and the guy made it out to Best Buy and Target to spend a couple K. I am still dealing with getting all of things in my wallet replaced. The people at WSC were no help, I had them break open the locker when the gym closed that night to find that my phone and keys were still in there. That day another guy reported the same thing happening to him. I have recently asked WSC what they are going to do to show some appreciation for those of us that got our lockers broken into, I have yet to hear back. If my stuff had not been locked I don’t think I would be this mad but the fact that there was someone in the locker room doing this for WEEKS is mind-blowing. They need to find a way to acknowledge the victims.
Society is not composed of a set of agents willing to do our bidding whenever we shout and carry on. Nothing makes this more clear than when you move to a city in the Northeast (DC qualifies) and run into any problem whatsoever.**
Sure, this is disheartening at first – but it’s also a bit assuming to believe you have a relationship with corporate pawns. Look, I’m also disappointed that nobody helped out their fellow man – but this is symptom of a few other problems: including of course, law & order; but probably more directly, the consequences of our capitalist society. There’s a very real cost in not consuming at your local mom & pop shop (where you have some actual influence on the supply/service). That does not disappear at their staff, esp. if you’re expecting they’d help out for some reason.
I mean, maybe my take sounds liberal or communist at first, but I’d actually suggest the broader solution is to get over this romantic ethic that prevents our people from exchanging cash when helping one another. It’s certainly cheaper than sourcing it to worthless security guards and letting the government take a cut. ***
I’m also suggesting we take direct action action in what we consume (instead of rolling over) whenever a company has an oversight in services, compassion, or security towards one of our own. That means consumerist.com, but it also means creating some standards (like ‘bill of rights’ or expectations) and directing somebody in charge to them, instead of shopping there without a fight.
In this very specific case, this is what I suspect will happen: The individual escalated the matter enough that the Manager might either enforce some Draconian rule to help the existing customers feel protected; or, he might do something nice for the individual in question, but make no improvement. It’s also possible that media like cosumerist could generate enough publicity that the chain might publish some worthless letter and pretend to implement something, but really just capitalize on the free advertising.
Here’s what could happen though: The individual could seek advice from a forum at a place like consumerist. A letter with proposed expectations could be sent to the club manager and higher up the chain. The letter could be published on consumerist and the response could be as well. More extreme cases could provide financial considerations for the company, a venue for dialogue, and the thread of boycott.
I mean, the fact is, consumers are better positioned to demand what we want as a consensus in the form of a written document, than a company is to guess and market to us. The real problem is that we’d have to actually be committed and it’s more convenient to whine about it on blogs while getting paid.
**Watch a film like Metropolis if you want some red propoganda.
*** This is not something that can change overnight, but consider returning the favor when somebody with only pure intentions helps you out on the side of the road.