Manager fired for stopping gun theft gets job back

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – A manager at a Florida sporting goods store says he’s been rehired after being fired for tackling a man who was stealing a handgun.

An attorney for 32-year-old Dean Crouch said Friday that Texas-based Academy Sports and Outdoors unconditionally reinstated his client. Crouch previously said he was fired Tuesday for violating a company policy against touching customers.

Tallahassee police say 24-year-old Jason White was arrested June 29 after Academy Sports employees detained him while trying to run out of the store with a firearm, ammunition and backpack. Police say White also stole two guns from a pawn shop hours earlier.

Following national media reports about the firing, Crouch’s attorney, Ryan Hobbs, said Academy Sports offered Crouch his old job, and Crouch accepted.

Academy Sports didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment by The Associated Press.

Advertisements