The owner decided to train his employees and give some of them stun guns after the store was robbed.
At Betteridge Jewelers in Greenwich, employees have been trained and some now carry tasers, weapons with laser sights capable of shocking potential robbers at the high end store.
Last month two suspects armed with sledgehammers pulled off a smash and grab robbery in broad daylight, terrifying employees and stealing watches worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Besides the tasers, Betteridge has increased security by hiring off duty police officers to patrol the store.
But police presence along Greenwich Avenue remains a sticking point between merchants and the department.
The police department says eliminating this manned position actually frees up two officers for patrol. The post has been reinstated for the holidays, but merchants say they want a cop here permanently.
Earlier this month a new Apple store was burglarized in the middle of the night by five suspects who smashed through the front door.
A few days later Greenwich pharmacy was cleaned out of over $1,500 dollars worth of beauty products. The shoplifters caught on surveillance tape stealing merchandise in the middle of the day.
It's unknown whether the cop on the corner will return full time. And police had no comment when asked about merchants taking protection to another level.
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