His note wasn’t clear: He was a robber, not a customer

It was a Tuesday, almost closing time, when the man walked into a downtown bank and handed the teller a note demanding money. He likely hoped for a big payoff.

The teller misunderstood, thinking he was a customer. She asked for his account number, twice. He got frustrated and left.

Employees later realized the encounter was a robbery attempt.

In late September, a robbery at a Vista bank was thwarted when a teller refused to hand over money. That man also left empty handed.

Banking and law enforcement officials say bank policies typically specify that employees comply with robber demands to ensure everyone’s safety.

Protocols vary by institution but generally direct tellers to “do anything you can to avoid violence,” said Beth Mills, a spokeswoman with the California Bankers Association. She said she didn’t think any bank would instruct an employee to tell a robber “no” in response to a demand note.

“You have no idea who you are dealing with on the other side,” she said. “If he’s asking for money and gives a note, pretty much all tellers would be instructed to do what the robber is asking.”

Bank holdups are far from an everyday occurrence in San Diego County. The region had 48 robberies and attempted robberies in 2015 and 45 in 2016. By the end of September, the county had logged 25, a big drop from the 38 robberies this point a year ago.

Police say they typically recommend anyone being robbed — whether a bank teller or a store clerk — do what they can to make sure they don’t get hurt.

“Although it is great to see someone stand up to a bad guy, I certainly wouldn’t suggest that or like to see that as the norm. A bank teller or anyone who is being robbed, they take a big risk in trying to call somebody’s bluff,” said Chula Vista Sgt. David Oyos.

Chula Vista used to help banks by staging mock robberies in branches after hours, with officers posing as robbers and shooting off guns that fired blanks. The goal was to help tellers focus on being good witnesses. Oyos said the department stopped offering the training a decade ago because of staffing constraints.

When the story about the failed downtown bank robbery came out, San Diego police reported that the teller had simply told the robber “no.” Turns out the encounter wasn’t that simple, a spokeswoman for U.S. Bank said.

In fact, the teller was confused about the robber’s intention because his note said “hand me $1,000” instead of demanding “all” the money.

“The employee said, ‘I can help you with that, but I need your account number,’” the spokeswoman said. “Two customers walked in and the man left.”

She said her bank would never recommend a teller refuse to cooperate with a robber.

The first thing the bank’s manual says is to comply with demands, she said, because the safety of employees and customers “overrides all other concerns.”

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com