Heroic or foolhardy? Starbucks manager defies workplace dangers

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are saddened, stunned by the terrible news surrounding a shooting of four police officers this weekend at a coffee shop in Parkland, Wash. All four died, leaving a total of nine children and three spouses behind. With the horrifying events outside of Tacoma as a backdrop, the heroic, if possibly misguided, efforts of a Starbucks (SBUX) manager later Sunday night in Kansas City, Mo. seem a welcome contrast.

While the manager of the Starbucks at 4140 Main St. was getting ready to close the store and counting the money in the back office, reports the Kansas City Star, a would-be robber with a gun walked into the store and told the manager to get in the freezer. Instead of complying, he took a box cutter out of his pocket and began a scuffle with the suspect that ended with the coffee shop manager disarming the man, cutting him, then shoving him out the door. Victory! Right?