A county sheriff in Georgia is at the moment beneath fireplace for having what’s presumably some of the additional and doubtlessly harmful over reactions ever. Cobb County sheriff referred to as for backup in a Burger King drive-thru as a result of the employees obtained his order fallacious.
The story involves us by the use of Atlanta’s WSB-TV. In a main instance of how police departments protect their very own, the incident occurred final yr however the particulars are simply now coming to mild. Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens Sr. went to a Burger King in Mapleton, Georgia, in March 2023. Owens ordered a Whopper for his spouse with no mayo and requested staff to chop the burger in half, which is outwardly one thing that they didn’t do. So Owens referred to as for backup.
In physique cam footage offered to WSB by the Cobb County Sheriff’s workplace — and shared on-line — an officer may be seen strolling as much as Owens in his pickup truck. Owens then says to the officer “Hey, do me a favor. I must get, all I want is the proprietor title of whoever owns this rattling facility or the supervisor. I don’t want no rattling a reimbursement no extra. I simply want to seek out out who owns this place so I can do an official grievance.” The officer doesn’t object to Owens’ directions, he simply does as he’s advised.
The footage then reveals three officers strolling as much as the Burger King however discovering the doorways had been locked; the workers had been scared with the sudden police presence and had locked themselves inside. Ultimately they open up and communicate to the assistant supervisor. “No one is in bother we simply need to get some names,” the officer may be heard saying. The officer continues by explaining that it’s for the person exterior who desires the data to “file a grievance for his meals.”
The officers get the data and take it again out to Owens. The officer explains to him that the employees had been scared and had locked the doorways. Owens laughs asking if they’d advised the employees who he was earlier than the officer solutions that they didn’t. WSB says the footage has been making its rounds on-line after being posted by Owens’ opponent within the upcoming sheriff’s election David Cavender. Voters the station spoke with are shocked. A person who Cavander plans to rent as his chief deputy referred to as what Owens did an abuse of energy.
Owens doesn’t appear to have a difficulty with what he did, even going as far as saying the entire state of affairs has been “politicized in an try and win votes.”
“I used to be not in my uniform, and at no level in my interplay with the workers did I establish myself as a member of the legislation enforcement group. At no level did I point out my place, nor did I ask the responders to do something that they’d not, had not, or haven’t finished for anybody else who makes a enterprise dispute name,” Owens mentioned.
Nevertheless in an up to date interview with WSB from October 14, Owens took a barely completely different tone about what occurred. He claims that he requested for no mayo on the burger as a result of his spouse is allergic to it however that they nonetheless added it. So he requested to talk to the supervisor about it. He claims he requested for each an answer and a refund however was denied each by the restaurant’s administration. Claiming that the drive-thru window was slammed shut in his face, Owens says that’s when he referred to as for backup. “I assumed the most effective factor to do was to name a deputy. In hindsight, I in all probability ought to have simply drove off and took the unhealthy service and left and got here again one other day,” Owens advised WSB.
