Newly-obtained bodycam footage from Cobb County, Georgia law enforcement reveals deputies responding to Sheriff Craig Owens’ call for backup as he faced an escalating confrontation with several individuals who had locked themselves inside the establishment and refused to negotiate.
Per WSB-TV, the footage of the March 2023 standoff at the Mableton, Georgia Burger King location was obtained and posted by Owens’ reelection challenger, David Cavender, who said it was a gross abuse of law enforcement resources for Owens, who was off-duty on the day in question, to have called his deputies to respond when the staff at the fast food joint had fucked up his order.
“Hey, do me a favor. I need to get, all I need is the owner name of whoever owns this damn facility or the manager. I wanted her [female passenger in Owens’ SUV] a Whopper, no mayo, cut in half, right?” Owens is seen saying to the first deputy who showed up to the Burger King parking lot.
“I don’t need no damn money back no more. I just need to find out who owns this place so I can do an official complaint.” The footage then shows deputies approaching the front door of the global fast food establishment but unable to get in as the workers had locked themselves inside. An assistant manager finally unlocked the door and let the deputies in, with one telling them “Nobody is in trouble we just want to get some names… There isn’t even going to be a report written. That guy out there, [Owens is] just going to file a complaint for his food.” A deputy then told Owens that the employees were scared because previous disputes with customers had led to stalking and harassment.
“You didn’t tell him who I was, did you?” Owens then asked. “No. I just told him it was the guy out in the truck,” the deputy said. It’s not clear how the footage was obtained or how the incident had stayed under wraps for a year and a half, but Owens doesn’t have time for recrimination when politics is the bigger concern with just over three weeks left until election day. “Anything that takes away from that mission is a distraction, and for that, I am deeply sorry,” Owens said in a statement.