Plainclothes cop making bank transaction interrupts attempted robbery

“Every cop’s dream is to be in the right place like this to stop a robbery,” the officer said

November 23, 2021 09:43 AM

By Cliff Pinckard
cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A suspect in a bank robbery likely is lamenting his timing ... but it worked out perfectly for the Huntington Bank branch.

A plain-clothes police lieutenant who was in the bank on official business managed to break up an attempted robbery Monday afternoon and captured the 29-year-old suspect, according to Columbus police.

“I heard a commotion go on,” the unidentified officer said in an interview released by Columbus police. The officer said he heard the suspect demand money, implying that he had a weapon.

“I could see the look in the teller’s eyes that he was scared,” the officer said.

As the suspect turned around, the officer identified himself. The suspect threw the money down and surrendered, the officer said. Robert Chitwood is now facing a charge of robbery.

“This is what you’re trained to do,” the officer said. “I mean, this is why you become a police officer is to stop robberies and homicides and everything else. ... Every cop’s dream is to be in the right place like this to stop a robbery.”