A Remembrance... by Barbara Hurst
A few years back, when I was "on the road" a lot doing seminars and workshops, my travels took me to Norfolk, Nebraska. A rural community of 25,000 people, Norfolk is familiar to many of us for two reasons. One is that it was the home town of the late Johnny Carson, beloved by so many who enjoyed him on the Tonight Show during his 30 year career.
September 26, 2002
The other reason is not so pleasant. It was the town that was completely devastated when three killers walked into a bank on the corner of 13th St. and Pasewalk Avenue in Norfolk on Thursday morning, September 26, 2002 and took the lives of a customer, 37 year old Evonne Tuttle - mother of three, who was enjoying her day off; and four bank employees; Lola Elwood, 43, assistant branch manager - mother of two, a soccer mom and camping enthusiast; Jo Mausbach, 42, a teller - employee of the bank since 1985, mother of two, who drove 50 miles to work every day; Lisa Bryant, 29, a personal banker - who had been married just two months before; and Sam Sun, 50, a teller supervisor - father of two sons, and only son of his mother with whom he lived. In 40 seconds after the three killers came through the door of the branch, all five of these good people were dead.
Steve Hecker, the Norfolk Police Department Captain who was in charge of the investigation and who participated in the subsequent prosecution of the convicted killers came to the BANKERS' HOTLINE Workshop in 2003, and has since presented programs to other bankers and police departments in the United States. Steve talked about what happened that day, what could and could not have been done to prevent it, and what happened afterward. He was open and forward about what we're doing right and also about what we're doing wrong - or not doing at all.
Good Points
One of the things Steve talked about are the locks on the doors of financial institutions. Two employees who survived the shootings were terrified after the gunmen left that they might come back in. But they did not have the key to lock the door. Many of our doors still have locks that require keys to lock. "Why," asks Captain Hecker, "is there not a simple dead-bolt lock on the entry door of a bank that can be quickly locked by anyone in order to prevent a robber who has just left from re-entering?"
Good question. And one we should have thought of long ago - indeed, since the workshop I've heard from people who took Captain Hecker's advice and installed dead bolts. It was only one of the useful ideas he shared with us. Another had to do with video tape that could not be retrieved because the codes were only known to the victims.
Trial Results
Norfolk hit the news again recently with the results of the trials. Justice moves slowly, but it does move. Three of the killers have been convicted of murder. Two have been sentenced to death, one, who 'cased' the bank and drove the car, to five consecutive life terms. The fourth killer has yet to be sentenced, as the lawyers argue that he is mentally retarded.
Back to Norfolk
I went back to Norfolk last November to do training for the Nebraska Bankers Association. While I was there Captain Hecker showed me the corner where the bank had been. It's gone. There is a lovely little park there now, with a star shaped garden, and a plaque with the name of the victims of that day at each of the points of the star. Evonne, Lola, Jo, Lisa and Sam are all remembered here. Not surprisingly, even though it was cold, there were flowers in all five points. Norfolk will not forget.
Neither will we.
Copyright © 2005 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 14, No. 12, 1/05
Privacy Policy Disclaimer Recommend This Site ! Contact Us
BankersOnline is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers and sponsors. Advertisers and sponsors are not responsible for site content. Please help us keep BankersOnline FREE to all banking professionals. Support our advertisers and sponsors by clicking through to learn more about their products and services.
|
Print Friendly!
Email This Article!
Discuss NOW!