In My View: Vigilant Citizens Should Be Celebrated, Not Vilified

Blair County in Central Pennsylvania is where I have spent most of my adult life. In 1981, I took a job with Kopp Drug, after a miserable 6 months with Rite Aid. I practiced in Tyrone, Pennsylvania, for 26 years and had a wonderful stint with Kopp Drug. When I deduced the owner would be selling the business to Rite Aid, I planned my escape and took a job with Thompson Pharmacy in Altoona, Pennsylvania. I worked for 12 years in Altoona, until an opportunity came for me to move closer to my kids who lived in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

When we moved, we frequently had to describe where we lived. No one had heard of Tyrone, Hollidaysburg, or Altoona. I’d explain that they are right near Penn State (even though I’m a Pitt fan). Everyone, including Jimmy Kimmel, now knows where Altoona is.

Rats, narcs, finks, snitches: These are all nicknames that are being leveled against some of the wonderful citizens in Altoona, specifically, the astute customer at McDonald’s, the concerned employee who called 911, and the Altoona Police Department, all of whom were involved in the apprehension of Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in New York, New York.

Peter A. Kreckel, RPh, recounts an instance of a perpetrator in his Pennsylvania pharmacy location. | image credit: gguy / stock.adobe.com

I had 12 wonderful years working for Thompson’s, an outstanding family pharmacy chain. I worked at its Broad Avenue location, a 1200-square-foot neighborhood store. I had a great time interacting with customers and providing the excellent service that the pharmacy’s owner, Bill Thompson, expected.

About 15 years ago, I was working at Broad Avenue with a student pharmacist named Scott. We were discussing the pharmacology of thyroid hormones, and we looked up to see a young man dressed in a hood and mask walking up the first aisle. Scott and I continued to discuss the hormones as a clerk blurted out, “Take that hood off, and while you are at it, get that mask off.” I guess our clerk sounded like a grandmother and the perpetrator complied by dropping his hood and taking off the mask.

The phone rang. It was the 911 call center with the operator asking, “Hey, are you guys OK?” I answered slyly, “I don’t know if we are OK. A guy just walked in with a mask and hood, and the clerk told him to remove it, which he quickly did. The guy is now up front buying a Mountain Dew, and he is walking back. Never mind the police just came in the front door.” The police had their guns drawn and pointed at the potential robber. They yelled, “Get down on the floor!”

I had our staff huddle on the floor in the opposite corner of the pharmacy. The pharmacy technician started crying. She was worried. She said, “I am the one who pushed the panic button.” I said, “Great job. While Scott and I were discussing the thyroid, you had enough sense to summon for help.” The time from when the potential robber came in the front door to when the police arrived was less than 2 minutes. When we stood up from our corner, there were at least 6 officers in the small drug store.

They promptly arrested him, and, eventually, he was convicted of possessing instruments of a crime. He did have a pistol inside his waistband. Fortunately, it was a pellet gun. I was dissatisfied with him receiving such a light sentence, but this arrest brought down a lot of local drug dealers. After learning how valuable this arrest was to law enforcement, I quickly changed my tune.

About 3 years later, a woman came up to me in the store and asked, “Do you remember about 3 years ago when that kid came into your store with the hood and mask on?” Of course I did, incidents like that stick with you. She said, “I was driving the senior citizen bus and was stopped at the red light at the corner of 24th and Broad Avenue. I saw him putting on a pair of black sweatpants, a black hoodie, and the mask, so I called 911 and reported what I saw.”

This very astute citizen saw something and did something. She saw potential criminal activity and took care of the situation. We can have panic buttons and cameras in the stores, but nothing beats having a vigilant citizen report what she saw. I would never call her a rat, narc, fink, or snitch. I called her a hero, which is what best describes the McDonald’s employee and customer, and the Altoona Police Department.

What happened on the streets of Manhattan could have happened in the pharmacy on Broad Avenue.

To read these stories and more, download the PDF of the Drug Topics January/February issue here.

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