Man In Wheelchair Tackles Would-Be Thief

[Ban Hammer 14,017]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- A man looking to cause trouble picked the wrong Canadian convenience store.

A regular customer, who relies on a wheelchair to get around, tackled the would-be thief to the ground late Saturday after the man began threatening the store clerk.

The man got upset after clerk Cindy Grewal said she refused a $50 bill that appeared to be counterfeit.

"He started using filthy language and he said, 'Give me the money back,'" Grewal said. "And I said, 'No, let the police come in and you can have it then.' And after that he said, 'I'm going to rob you.'"

The man began getting physical with Grewal when Larry Skopnik stepped in.

Surveillance video shows Skopnik rolling around the corner and putting the would-be thief in a headlock.

Several other customers step in, subduing the man while Grewal called 911.

"My hero gets a hug," Grewal told Skopnik on Tuesday. "We need more customers like you."

Skopnik, who was paralyzed in an ATV accident 10 years ago, said he doesn't think of himself as disabled.

"Just because I'm in a chair doesn't mean I can't stand up and do what's right, even though I can't stand up," he said. "It's all about doing the right thing."

The man was arrested, but released the next morning.

link - has video of the incident

[Nagishkaw 510]