CVS employee thwarts drug thief, protects pharmacist — and then CVS fires them both: 'They don't value customers; they value money'

Former CVS employee Zacharia Phillips took down a would-be drug thief and protected the store's pharmacist from harm, but CVS fired them both anyway.

In a statement, CVS said that Phillips and the pharmacist had violated company policy by stopping the thief.

What are the details?

The incident occurred at a CVS store in Greenfield, Indiana, in November.

Phillips was working at the store when a man entered and strode back to the pharmacy. Phillips said that the suspect, 22-year-old Jagger Maupin, handed the pharmacist a note that said, "This is a pharmacy robbery."

Surveillance footage of the incident showed Phillips and the pharmacist following Maupin — who attempted to steal Oxycodone — to the front door, tackling him before he was able to get away.

The two employees were able to restrain Maupin, who was reportedly unarmed, until police arrived.

Police charged Maupin with robbery, resisting law enforcement, obstruction of justice, theft, and battery.

What did Phillips say about his firing?

Phillips said that he doesn't believe it's fair for him to lose his job over the incident.

"I was defending myself, defending my pharmacist," he said. "If we get attacked, we are not even allowed to defend ourselves."

"[Maupin] could have been out to hurt somebody else or endangered somebody's life if he had gotten drugs," he added.

Phillips also told WISH-TV that he wasn't about to let that happen.

"People are human. They react at things. Especially when you see someone going after someone you consider a friend, your instinct is to protect them," he explained.

"We're not allowed to fight back, we're not allowed to do anything," he added. "We're just supposed to let them have these dangerous drugs and be on their way. They don't value anybody; they don't value employees; they don't value customers; they value money."

What did CVS say?

Several days after the incident, CVS fired Phillips and the pharmacist as a result of the interaction.

In a statement, CVS said:

We have stringent security policies and procedures in place to prohibit actions by employees that would jeopardize their safety and the safety of others. The actions of two employees at our Greenfield store during a recent attempted robbery violated those policies and procedures by initiating a physical confrontation, which led to our decision to separate them from the company.