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By AMANDA PINTO
STAMFORD — A Wachovia Bank financial officer chased and tackled the man who had just robbed his bank Tuesday afternoon, subduing the suspect until police arrived.
The bank employee, Justin Quagliani, 25, is a military police officer currently serving in the reserves. He sprang into action when a co-worker alerted him that Christopher Paris, 37, had robbed the bank and run into the street.
Just after noon Tuesday, Quagliani chased Paris outside and jumped in front of a cab, just as the man was getting into it, he said.
"When [the driver] came to a screeching halt in front of me the assailant got out and ran in the opposite direction," Quagliani said.
Carrying cash in a bag, Paris, followed by Quagliani, ran through an alley and the Bell Street parking garage.
Quagliani said he shouted several times for the man to freeze, each time expecting Paris to turn and confront him with a weapon. If he had, Quagliani said, he would have probably backed off.
He caught up with Paris behind the Rich Forum, when the man turned to face him and reached inside his pocket, Quagliani said.
"That's when I knew I had to stop him," he said. "I didn't know if he had a weapon or what he was reaching for."
Quagliani, who has extensive training in hand to hand combat, tackled the man and executed what he called a "guillotine choke hold," until police arrived.
He sustained several scratches to his face, as Paris attempted to gouge his eyes, he said.
Other Wachovia employees called police shortly after the robbery, Cooney said, and officers flooded the area where they witnessed the two men "grappling on the ground."
Stamford Police Public Information Officer Lt. Sean Cooney said Paris appeared to be unarmed, but may have implied he had a weapon. He praised Quagliani's efforts in helping detain Paris, who Cooney described as more than 6-feet-tall and more than 200 pounds.
"His size alone is intimidating," he said.
Quagliani said he hadn't planned on chasing down and subduing the robber.
"Looking back on it now it was really more or less just an instinctive reaction," he said Wednesday. "I just really reverted back to what I was trained to do in the military."
Cooney said Quagliani's good work went "above and beyond the call of duty."
"I don't think heroic is too strong a word," Cooney said of Quagliani's efforts. "He basically tracked [Paris] down and tackled him and we arrived and put handcuffs on him."
Paris, who gave his address as the Shelter for the Homeless on Pacific Street, was charged with first-degree robbery and third-degree assault.
Paris has 14 prior arrests in Connecticut dating back to 1987, Cooney said. The charges, most of which stem from arrests in New Haven and Middletown, include larceny, narcotics and carrying a pistol without a license.
Paris was charged once in Stamford in December 2005 when he was arrested for criminal trespass and breach of peace.
Cooney said he expects Paris, who is being held on $500,000 bond, will also soon be charged in another local bank robbery.
Cooney said Paris "bears a striking resemblance," to the man videotaped before robbing the First Citizens Bank on Atlantic Street on Dec. 27. Paris is the prime suspect in that case, and police will soon issue an arrest warrant, Cooney said.
For Quagliani, knowing that he stopped a potential serial bank robber is the most important aspect of his efforts.
"That makes it much more rewarding, knowing that [Paris] was someone causing trouble in the neighborhood, and I brought him down," he said.
Low percentage movements that require an unarmed bank robber ain't too bright no matter what light you look at them in.
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