A cop couple trying to enjoy a date night out at their local chicken shop had to spring into action to stop a robbery in progress. Chase and Nicole McKeown were having a meal at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers in Louisville, Kentucky, when a masked man came into the restaurant with a gun. That’s when the detective and police officer sprung into action and put a stop to the crime as it was in progress, NBC News reports.
- They thought the man was just protecting himself against COVID-19. While the worst of the pandemic appears to be over, COVID isn’t gone and many people are still taking precautions against it by wearing masks. That’s initially what Chase and Nicole McKeown thought when they saw the man enter. However, that all changed when they saw an employee put her hands in the air.
- The couple didn’t hesitate to bring the criminal down. As Nicole recalled in a press conference after the incident: “I saw her hands go up like this and I’m like, ‘Is he doing what I think he’s doing?’ And he’s like, ‘Yeah.'” Chase added: “There was literally no question. We just looked at each other: ‘Is this what’s going on? Let’s go.’ We just did what we felt like we had to do.”
- The entire scene was caught on surveillance cameras. You can see the McKeowns get up from their chairs, pull out their guns, and pursue the robber, later identified as Justin Carter. Carter dropped his gun and ran out of the restaurant, but the McKeowns chased him down and arrested him along with officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department.
- The police department has praised Nicole and Chase McKeown for their bravery. They said they “couldn’t be more proud” of the couple for the “courageous and selfless actions they took to intervene.”
- The McKeowns said they won’t hesitate to head back to the restaurant in the future. They went that fateful Saturday night because it was the same place they went on their wedding night six months prior. Asked if they’d return after what happened, Nicole replied: “Oh, absolutely. I love Raising Cane’s.”
