No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Okay, so the guy violates bank policy by thwarting a robbery ...

... but does he deserve losing his job?

Crime doesn't pay, and neither does stopping one.

A Seattle bank teller learned that lesson the hard way last week when he thwarted a would-be robbery — and got fired for bucking company policy.

Jim Nicholson was working at a Key Bank branch on Tuesday when a man wearing a beanie cap, dark clothing and sunglasses entered the bank and demanded money. That's when instinct overwhelmed him.

"They tell us that we're just supposed to comply, but my instincts kicked in and I did what's best to stop the guy," the 30-year-old Nicholson told The Seattle Times. "I thought if I let him go he would rob more banks and cause more problems."

Rather than comply with the robber's demands, Nicholson tossed his bag to the floor, lunged at the suspect and demanded to see a weapon.

"My intent was to grab his glasses off his face, or him," Nicholson told the paper.

The man ran, and Nicholson chased him for several blocks before knocking him down with help from a passerby. Nicholson then held the suspect, Aaron J. Sloan, 29, until police arrived.

Nicholson's reward? Two days after the failed heist, he was fired.

Of course, the police and the bank defend their policy, which is money can be replaced, but people can't.

But once upon a time in America Jim Nicholson would be hailed as a hero.

You don't have to give him a reward, but isn't firing him a bit over the top?