COBB COUNTY, Ga. — The Cobb County sheriff has come under fire in national headlines after video surfaced of an exchange he had last year at a Burger King, in which he apparently called in deputies to the fast food restaurant on Veterans Memorial Highway in Mableton.
The reason? Sheriff Craig Owens, Sr. reportedly didn't get the right order.
A clip of the encounter was shared recently on social media by Owens' opponent in the upcoming sheriff's race, David Cavender. 11Alive obtained the full bodycam from the sheriff's office, which shows the incident took place in March 2023, according to the timestamp.
11Alive has chosen not to show the faces or names of the employees out of privacy, however, here is a rundown of what transpired inside.
In the video, the sheriff asks deputies to go inside and ask for the name of the manager and owner. Deputies approach the restaurant's door, which employees have locked. Once inside, the deputies speak with an assistant manager on staff, who claims that his supervisor is not there.
The assistant manager goes on to describe his reasoning for the precaution, noting that the area is "unsafe" and he has had instances of being followed after work. He added he felt threatened by the customer -- whose identity was unknown to him.
Later in the video, Owens asks the deputies if they told the man who he was. They said "no."
Watch some of the exchange below.
Inside the restaurant, the deputies tell the assistant manager that they are just there to collect the contact information of the manager and owner.
After receiving that contact information, the deputies exit the restaurant and approach the sheriff's truck. The deputies mention the man inside, who Owens refers to as an "a**." When told the employee felt threatened, Owens merely laughed.
Sheriff Owens has since released a statement on his campaign page, saying:
"The type of call referenced in the video is a business dispute call. This is a call that ANY citizen can make and law enforcement will respond. I went through the drive through dressed as a regular citizen," he said.
He added that he was not in uniform when the encounter happened.
"At no point in my interaction with the staff, did I identify myself as a member of the law enforcement community. At no point did I indicate my position nor did I ask the responders to do anything that they would not, had not, or have not done for anyone else who makes a business dispute call," he said.
Later on in the statement, Owens said "To our citizens and residents, it is clear that I need to work harder and I pledge to do so."
Since the encounter has been widely shared on social media, Cavender, Owens' opponent, said in a Facebook posts he wants "voters to be informed and vote for who they truly believe has the best interest of Cobb County..." He added he planned to make a further statement in the coming days.