Sports store manager tackles armed thief - here's how his heroism was 'rewarded

A Florida sports store manager was praised by many as a selfless hero for tackling an armed thief, but he got a stunning "reward" for the altruistic act.

Here's what happened

Manager Dean Crouch saw a man at the Tallahassee Academy Sports store ask for a handgun at the firearms counter. But when it was produced, the man ran for the door, according to USA Today.

Crouch decided to take action.

The 32-year-old Crouch tackled the thief with the help of a customer. They subdued him and recovered the gun, a backpack, 5 boxes of ammunition and 2 magazines.

After police arrived, they identified the man as Jason White.

White reportedly admitted that he wanted to steal the gun because he felt threatened and that he was going to kill his attackers. Crouch might have saved numerous lives through his quick thinking.

But rather than reward Crouch, the store fired him.

'Something had to be done"'

“Academy has decided to, instead of treating him like the hero he is," Crouch's lawyer Ryan Hobbs said, "they terminated his employment effective immediately because he put his hands on Mr. White.”

Crouch is considering suing for wrongful termination.

“This is not something that happens for Mr. Crouch in his everyday life,” Hobbs said.

“I think he was thinking there is a man running out of the store with a gun in his hand with his co-workers following from the firearm area screaming ‘Stop that man,’" he explained. "Something had to be done and he was the one that was going to do it.”

Here's a video from local news: