CVS worker gets fired for tackling suspected thief

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana -- A CVS worker in Indiana is out of a job after fighting back against a robber, WISH-TV reports.

Zac Phillips, a former CVS worker for five years, says he is still trying to process everything that has happened to him.

"You really don't have time to think in these situations it happened in a flash," Phillips said. "(They) showed my pharmacist a note saying 'this is a pharmacy robbery."

The pharmacist walked the robber up to the front, where Phillips was working.

He says nearly five years ago someone robbed the store while he was there.

"He punched me in the face and hit me with a bottle of laundry soap," Phillips said. "He put his hands on my pharmacist and I was right there when it happened. I didn't know what was going to happen from that point, but I wasn't going to let him hurt my pharmacist."

"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," Phillips said.

Police arrested the suspect, who is identified as Jagger Maupin. He faces multiple charges, including pharmacy robbery.

A few days later, Phillips said he and the pharmacist were fired.

According to CVS, "by initiating physical confrontation" the two former employees broke store policy.

"They don't value anybody, they don't value employees, they don't value customers. They value money," Phillips said.