Last month we asked PoliceOne readers how often they carry off duty. Click here to see the results.
Lexington Herald-Leader
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two married off-duty police officers have been praised for thwarting an armed robbery during a date at a fast food restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky.
Detective Chase McKeown and Officer Nicole McKeown of Elizabethtown Police Department were enjoying a weekly date night on Feb. 15 at a branch of Raising Cane’s restaurant when they noticed something was wrong and sprung into action.
A man wearing a surgical mask and black hooded sweater pulled low over his face can be seen in surveillance video released by Louisville Metro Police Department entering the fried chicken restaurant and appearing to threaten staff with a gun while pointing repeatedly at the cash register.
“That’s where that repetitiveness and that training kicks in,” Nicole McKeown told NBC’s Louisville affiliate WAVE.
The McKeowns can then be seen standing up at the same time from their back booth and brandishing their weapons while running through the restaurant towards the suspect.
The suspect, whom police identified to WAVE as Justin Carter, is seen in the video running out of the restaurant, with the couple in pursuit. Carter made his first appearance in court related to the case on Monday.
The McKeowns chased Carter through downtown Louisville and arrested him with the help of local police officers, Louisville Metro Police Department said in a short statement on its Facebook page.
Chase McKeown says that he and his wife try to prioritize teamwork in their relationship as well as their careers.
“In marriage we’ve got each other,” Chase McKeown said. “We’re going to talk things out, we’re going to deal with whatever comes at us,” he added.
Elizabethtown PD praised the officers’ “courageous and selfless” actions in a proud post on the force’s Instagram, adding the hashtag "#couplegoals.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8uEHs4j4vV/