Teaching bank workers how best to handle holdups is a routine and regular procedure, and it paid off Monday morning in Missoula.
“Everyone did well. Nobody was hurt. Everybody followed procedures,” said Gary Clark, president of the Missoula Federal Credit Union that was robbed in frightening fashion.
The unidentified man was tracked down in his pickup in Upper Miller Creek and wounded after reportedly firing shots at sheriff’s deputies.
Clark said his credit union has regular robbery training, usually quarterly. It urges the basics n be vigilant, do what the thief says, notify authorities as fast as safely possible, and notice details.
On Monday morning, those details were quickly relayed to 9-1-1 dispatchers who received phone calls from employees inside the bank n including one woman who told the operator she was hiding under her desk.
“We had one of our people, while the guy was coming in the door, pushing the panic button,” Clark said. “She did the right thing. My staff is well-trained. They cordoned off everything that protected the crime scene.”
For good reason, banks and other keepers of money are reticent to talk about training tips.
“We never discuss our security or robbery procedures, including training, with anyone outside the bank,” Suzanne Loewen wrote in an e-mail to the Missoulian from First Interstate Bank in Missoula.
“I can’t speak for all banks, but First National Bank has a strict procedure for situations like this,” said Noel Kulbeck, vice president of that Missoula bank. “Obviously I can’t give it.”
Kulbeck said it’s “pretty normal” for a bank to update robbery training on a regular basis, “just to keep it fresh in everyone’s minds, especially in these times when these situations could be a little more common.”
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