Unstable, bitter ex-employees

[glockcop]

So last year I hire this guy, seemed like a good guy, but turned out to be sort of an ***.

The guys at work didn't like him, customers didn't like him and he did a crappy job. He eventually quit and got a new job. Everybody is happy right?

Well not quite.

This guy is bitter as hell about quitting He glares a me when he passes. A very disturbing trend. I could care less.

I go hunting last week and passed him on the highway as he was taking a canoe out of the water. I went about 15 km down the road and began hunting grouse down some trail off the dirt road. Lo and behold there he appears driving down the trail glaring at me in the middle of the bush. Of all the places for him to go hunting he chose the same trail I was on. You need to understand there are less than 10,000 people within 150km radius of me. Bush everywhere, but he chose to follow me down that road.

I view that as a threat. I suspect if my two kids weren't with me there would have been a confrontation. Not good with two armed people.

Today he confronts me on the street and says he wants to fight! Says I was an *** hole and treated him poorly, I forced him to get another job that pays more than I make. Like I care!

Do I go to the police and prevent the inevitable showdown?

Yes, make a Police report/file restraining order and keep whatching your back. Follow your gut feelings on his behavior. Chances are this will get worse before it gets better. You must prepare for a "worst case senario". At least if the worst happens and you get "offed" the cops will have an automatic suspect. On the flip side, If you have to "off" him you will have a documented established history of his aggressive behavior. That will go a LONG way in front of a Grand Jury. Be safe and check your "6" frequently. I hope this works out peacefully for you but don't count on it. Best.

[crashdive123]

Wooly - it is readable. You may just want to edit your previous post and delete the picture.

[crashdive123]

Red Lake - while it is true that a piece of paper may not stop a nut job, it will certainly go a long way should you have to do anything to protect yourself or your family. I don't know how difficult it is to get a restraining order (or even if it is something that you can get), but I would imagine that if you let LEO know that your children that were with you felt threatened by this guys actions that it might help make your case.

[wooly]

Wooly - it is readable. You may just want to edit your previous post and delete the picture.

Done.
Sorry for the histeria
just trying to make a point to not let this kinda stuff slide no matter how miniscule it may seem at the time.

[oldsoldier]

Don't know about the laws there but in most states what he did would be called, intimination and stalking when he followed you and "glared" at you. His challenging you to a fight is terroristic threatning. If I remember correctly each one of these are Class B misdomeners, hich can lead to up to a year in jail for each count. Maybe Ken can tell you for sure. It's been a couple decades since my LEO days. But Do what everyone else has said at least make a report, Get a RO if you can and document EVER incident of contact you have in the future.

[crashdive123]

Done.
Sorry for the histeria
just trying to make a point to not let this kinda stuff slide no matter how miniscule it may seem at the time.

Honestly - it didn't matter to me. Just trying to look out for you. If a situation warranted a restraining order, do you think posting personal info from it might cause some sort of retaliation if discovered? No hysteria here.

[oly]

So far the only thing I have had to do is have a stare down and the stocking has stopped, nowadays you need to file a report.

[wooly]

Do I go to the police and prevent the inevitable showdown?

YES
Is that better?
Cover your arse.

[mountain mama]

I agree on the coverage of assets. Build a paper trail. That way, if you do have to take action for the purpose of self-preservation, you can justify your means.

I have been stalked, run off the road twice, chased through a school when 8 months pregnant, chased across my lawn, ding-dong-ditched numerous times, had a false police report filed for kidnapping after the idiot dropped her kids on my porch in their underwear at 6 a.m., etc. for seven years now by my husband's ex-wife and only just last month got a no-contact order against her. In all honesty, I don't think it's worth the paper it's written on, but it does show a pattern and I don't intend on spending my remaining days in prison for defending myself against such a lunatic.

[Rick]

For those of you in management position, always remember that if you have to let someone go and you have the luxury of choosing the day, do it on a Monday. That gives them all week to start looking for another job. If you do it on Friday, they will go home and start drinking and fuming. Since fewer businesses are open over the week-end, they won't be looking. Then come Monday morning you have a goof ball looking for you, sometimes armed. We always released employees on Monday unless it was something dire like assault or theft.

[rwc1969]

In this day and age I guess a restraining order, or at least a mention to the locals would be the right thing to do. But, It'd be much easier and better for society as a whole if the two of you could just duke it out and be done with it. Unfortunately, we don't do things that way anymore.

Instead, things get elevated to this level and the outcome is rarely good. Hopefully he has gotten it off his chest by confronting you. Hell, I'd just apologize and say you're sorry he feels that way.

Judging by your post there were things going on at work that caused him to be so grief stricken. LOL! People don't just up and quit jobs and then blame employers for no reason.

I used to work at a place and the guys would give people who weren't working out serious grief so they would eventually quit and keep the CO. from having to pay their unemployment. That's the way it worked, unwritten rule. Many companies do this.

One guy who worked there 6 months before I started was like this. He got picked on, quit and then went on to work at the Royal Oak Post Office. Yeah, it was that exact guy for whom the term "Going Postal" was born. Makes me wonder if my company and the way the employees treated him was what led him to snap at the post office.

I try very hard not to give anyone grief in life or at work. Makes the world a better place for all in the long run. Not worth the few laughs to pass the time, or lil bit of savings in unemployment insurance premiums to cost so many lives.

Hopefully your ex-employee doesn't go postal on anyone.

[rebel_chick]

I would go ahead and make a report and get the restraining order. That way, when you have to protect yourself and your family, there is proof that he was already "stalking" you, that will help your self defense case in court if nothing else. And always be ready, I know that sucks but its just something you gotta do sometimes. As a matter of fact, my dad is an ex-cop himself. He put several people in jail, and several of them claimed that when they got out they were going to find and kill him. He used to carry a loaded pistol in the truck everywhere he goes.

[red lake]

I see the irony in my post of a few days ago about the storage of firearms.

Point well taken 2d2k.

So, one scenario is we go toe to toe. I have 50-60 pounds and 4+ inches on the guy. I pummel him and he hen gets really bitter and I end up dodging bullets in the bush one day.

I think I am going to take the advice of many here and go to the police. If not a restraining order, at least documented problems when I end up defending myself.

As far as me being an a*****e of a boss, maybe I am maybe I am not. The guys who work for me now seem to like and respect me, they have been with me for some time. But your boss being a pain in the *** is not breaking news.

BTW, thank you for the replies.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

Red Lake I just want to say be careful. He could just be playing mind games or he could be whacko. You would probably know better than any here. But it is better safe than sorry.
I don't place much faith in the piece of paper... Too many battered wives and such have had them to no avail. However it does provide that Documentation everyone is talking about. But you may want to pretend you are going hunting every day right after work. That way you will have an "excuse" to keep a firearm close. I have no idea how firearm laws are in your area,but as some say- "better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it". Wishing you well.

[Rick]

Yeah, you could always duke it out. Of course, you run the risk of bringing a fist to a gun fight or being arrested for battery. I think you made the right choice to document it.

[hoosierarcher]

A police report of the two incidents and a temporary restraining order seems appropriate.

[red lake]

Filed a report today. Cop agreed he was crossing the line. No TRO necessary though, just a report.

Cover your butt.

On a side note, I have thought of the gun storage conundrum. Gun only needs to be stored/locked when I am not there. When I am there it can be loaded and under my bed, or in my hands even.

[TucsonMax]

You made the right move.

[jeff_c]

A piece of paper won't stop a nut. Clean his clock, that's better than trying to play defense. A restraining order will just get him POed and you gotta think about your family. Just get him to throw or attempt to harm you in front of witnesses. Here, we and the judge call it self defense and he's paid for even if the restraining order isn't worth a dime. I may sound a little crude but
I was raised to do anything to protect me and my family and not play defense.

I mean no disrespect... but I cannot disagree more. This is how people get killed, either our friend here or another.

Now, I am not advocating, rolling over and taking this guys abuse or threats... but I would NOT confront him.

Rather, I would at the very least contact the cops. They will HAVE to start a documentation trail. This can help you in the future.

I would also prepare for the worst case. Protect yourself at all costs. But sometimes the best protection is to avoid conflict and start more documentation. I would NOT be the aggressor.

That said, if I felt this way, I would be carrying at all times. Again, I am not going to let a nut job harm me or mine, but Im not going to start anything either.

His confrontation to "fight you" is pretty serious.

So, I agree with "All of the above". Contact the coppers, document these incidents, protect yourself and your family, and THEN be prepared to clean his clock.

[catfish10101]

Just remember, if you have to protect yourself with deadly force, YOU FEARED FOR YOUR LIFE!!!!