Married Off-Duty Officers Stop Robbery, Chase Suspect During Date Night
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (CBSDFW.COM/CNN) -- For two married off-duty officers in Kentucky, their date night was anything but ordinary.
Chase and Nicole McKeown are both police officers in Elizabethtown and have been married for six months.
The night started out normal when they went to Raising Cane's on Saturday, but things took a strange turn while they were eating dinner. A man came in wearing a mask and went up to the counter.
"I think we kind of both saw him at the same time," Nicole said during a news conference.
At first, she thought the man may be sick, given flu season, but soon realized the mask was for a less innocent reason, according to WDRB.
"I looked at [Chase] and said, 'That's kind of odd,'" she said.
Nicole said they saw the employee behind the counter put their hands up and that's when both realized what was happening.
That's when they knew they had to jump into action.
The officers drew their weapons and chased the suspect out of the restaurant, and it was all captured on surveillance video that was released by the Louisville Metro Police Department.
Business Robbery at Canes.You never know who's minding their own business but ready to put in work. This is the Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers at #MidCityMall Saturday night. Shout out to the two Elizabethtown Police Department officers that went from enjoying them delish chicken fingie's to full-blown #Sheepdogs real quick. They chased the suspect in the Highlands and made the arrest with our 5th Division officers. Great work, EPD! #LMPD #Etown #BusinessRobbery #RaisinCanes #ChickenBaskets #ChickenFingies #ThatSauceIsOnPoint #OneLove #ThatSweetTeaTho #Chicken #AlwaysFreshNeverFrozen #LikeOurHashtags #EtownStaysDown #EPD #OffDutyResponse #WolfHunters #FormulateAplan #DivideAndConquer #StrongWerk
Posted by Louisville Metro Police Department on Tuesday, February 18, 2020
The video shows the suspect dropping the weapon and rushing out through the entrance.
The couple continued to pursue him a few blocks away from the restaurant and held him at gunpoint until Louisville metro police arrived and arrested him.
"It is my belief that if not for the heroic actions of these two officers the perpetrator's actions inside the business would have escalated, they acted honorable and heroically," said Deputy Dan Mason of the LMPD's robbery unit.
The couple said officer instinct just kicked in as the situation progressed.
"We both looked at each other and said 'Is this what's going on? OK let's go,'" Chase said.
"When it comes to peoples' live in danger, any other officer would have done the same thing," Nicole said.
The suspect is now in custody in Louisville, according to police.
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