Blockbuster employee stabs himself to avoid getting fired
Filed under: Economy, People, Blockbuster
On Monday, Aaron Siebers limped into his job at a Blockbuster (BBI) video store in Edgewater, Colo. Bleeding from a deep stab wound in his lower leg and superficial cuts on his face and body, he claimed that he had been assaulted by three "skinheads or hispanic males" who were "dressed in black." Local law enforcement agencies sprang into action. Five area police and sheriffs' departments sent units to the scene and scoured the neighborhood in search of evidence. Deploying K-9 units and setting up a perimeter to catch potential suspects, they soon discovered that the local Target, near the scene of the assault, had a battery of surveillance cameras.
While the police were establishing a perimeter and checking Target's footage, Siebers received medical treatment, including multiple stitches, at nearby Saint Anthony Central Hospital. When he was released, police detectives questioned him about the crime and his repeatedly shifting story. Ultimately, they revealed what they had learned from Target's security cameras: The attack hadn't actually occurred.
Faced with the evidence, Siebers crumbled, admitting that he had stabbed himself. Pressed for a reason, he admitted that, earlier in the day, he had torn his uniform pants while skateboarding. Worried about his boss' response if he showed up with a damaged uniform, he chose instead to stab himself. Siebers was quickly arrested and charged with filing a false report and obstructing an officer, both of which are misdemeanors.
While it's easy to question Siebers' methods -- not to mention his sanity -- it's also worth remembering that the unemployment rate is rapidly nearing 10 percent. Faced with a potential cause for termination, he seems to have come up with a creative -- if unhealthy -- method of staying out of the unemployment line.
Unfortunately, neither Siebers nor Blockbuster is talking to the press, so we can't conclusively determine why he decided to stab himself, go to the hospital and miss a night of work instead of just buying a fresh pair of khakis. Then again, given that the hourly wage for a Blockbuster customer service representative hovers in the $8 range, Siebers' route may not have been as bizarre as it seems.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-06-2009 @ 8:04AM
skalawa said...
hahahaha ..sad but I got to laugh , hope the fellow can keep his job as he went through quite a lot for that job
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11-06-2009 @ 5:23AM
DUDE said...
Our country is truly in a sad state of affairs when a man is so scared of losing his job, That he would result to such drastic measures to keep it. "Keep up the good work Obama!!!"
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11-06-2009 @ 7:38AM
Blue Kentucky Girl said...
The true 'victim' in this story is the person who will see this and make a pitiful attempt at humor. Very, very few will stop and focus on this man's situation ~ even fewer will put themsleves in his place and take an honest look at what their choice might be if it was their decision. Most of us would accept the inevitable and begin searching for another job. This man was willing to work for 'around $8 an hour' .. please keep that in mind before you comment.
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11-06-2009 @ 10:25AM
fiend said...
i thought the comments were going to be a lot worse. it seems like a far stretch but he gets an A for effort
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11-06-2009 @ 1:45PM
Lawdog said...
BS....give me a break. The guy was worried about getting fired by having a hole in his pants. How about the truth YOU IDIOT. The problem today is that few people tell the truth anymore, or tell it and refuse to accept the result. My BB store has a guy (kid) that wears his holy jeans down on his ass. By the way, skateboarding???? He probably wanted a job there just to get free game videos to play in his spare time 24/7.
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11-07-2009 @ 10:21AM
bob said...
There are people sitting at home playing video games, rented from Blockbuster, using the unemployment checks they're collecting and this guy stabs himself to keep his gestapo of a boss from firing him. Bravo! Give this guy a promotion for giving Blockbuster a can of much need PR/Marketing.
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