Police officers on a date end up foiling armed robber

When robber sees them coming he drops his gun and flees restaurant

Two Kentucky police officers thwarted an armed robbery attempt – while they were on a date.

No foul play could stop Elizabethtown Police Department officer Nicole McKeown and detective Chase McKeown, who surprised an armed robber on Saturday night during their fried fowl dinner at Raising Cain's Chicken Fingers franchise, local news outlets first reported.

“It was a right place, right time type of deal,” Chase McKeown told The Washington Post.

In surveillance video, the robber, wearing a white mask and black hoodie, walks into the otherwise empty restaurant, points at the cash register and shows the cashier a gun that's tucked into his shorts.

Sitting in a booth, the McKeowns take notice when the cashier holds up her hands. Just before they jump up with their weapons drawn, the couple, who wed in August, look at each other. Chase McKeown said they barely spoke but that both knew what they needed to do.

“There wasn't any planning it,” he said. “That's where the training takes over.”

When the robber saw the pair coming toward him, he dropped his gun and ran out of the restaurant. The McKeowns chased him for a block before they were able to detain him.

Louisville Metro Police Department patrol units assisted the couple, a police spokesman, Sergeant Lamont Washington, told The Washington Post.

Police charged Justin Carter of Louisville with robbery, receiving a stolen gun and possession of a handgun by a felon.

He pleaded not guilty at his first appearance on Monday, according to court records.

The action-packed dinner was out of the norm for the McKeowns' weekly date nights. The couple is normally low key, Chase McKeown said. They opted to skip Valentine's Day the day before to visit the fast-food chicken restaurant, which was where they dined after their wedding.

“We aren't big on real fancy things,” he said.

But the Metro Police Department and others still celebrated their fearlessness, calling them heroes. Chase McKeown said they were just doing their job.

“We didn't do anything that any other officer wouldn't have done,” he said.

Washington Post