Three people are suing the Georgia sheriff who summoned his deputies to assist him in resolving his incorrect Burger King order, claiming he silenced them for criticizing him on the Sheriff’s Office Facebook page in the lead-up to his reelection this month.
In March 2023, police body camera footage captured Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens berating a deputy over his fast food order. According to a lawsuit filed on November 13 by three individuals alleging their First Amendment rights were violated, Owens deleted and restricted who may post after critical messages got public on the sheriff’s office Facebook page.
According to the lawsuit, Owens chose to use his office’s authority to restrict the speech of Plaintiffs and others based on their points of view rather than respecting the First Amendment and putting along with speech that he personally found objectionable.
Cobb County media representative declined to comment.
Michael Dondelinger, David Cavender, and Michele Beagle are the three plaintiffs who brought the claim. Cavender unsuccessfully campaigned against Owens with Dondelinger, a retired law enforcement official from the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office. Cavender’s chief of staff, Dondelinger, claims he was barred from making negative comments on the Facebook page.
The lawsuit details the disputes that led to the disparaging remarks and Owens’ claimed subsequent conduct on Facebook. According to the lawsuit, it all began in October when Owens boasted about his achievements on Facebook.
Cavender shared a video showing Owens using deputies to break up a fight at a Burger King in Mableton, northwest of Atlanta, on March 4, 2023, over a Whopper that had mayonnaise on it despite his request for no mayonnaise.
According to the lawsuit, he asked deputies to intervene in the issue on his behalf rather than either accepting the order or handling it himself.
Owens informs a deputy about the incorrect order of the body camera footage.
Do me a favor, please. I just need the manager’s name or the name of whoever owns this fucking institution. I no longer need my money returned. To file a formal complaint over the service, he stated, “I just need to find out who owns this place.”
The Burger King staff barricaded themselves in the establishment, claiming they had dealt with irate patrons in the past and were unsure of the man’s identity. He did not identify himself as law enforcement, nor was he in a marked police car or clothing.
There are no problems. A deputy informs the assistant manager, “We just want to get some names.” Not even a report is going to be written. He’s merely going to grumble about his food, that guy out there.
Dondelinger described it as a waste of money, intimidation, and abuse of power.
Dondelinger stated, “I’m shocked the sheriff feels so flippant about this issue that he would get information from a business owner that obviously could have been followed up on another day by having deputies run lights and sirens, putting citizens and his deputies at risk.”
The lawsuit claims that following the dispute, the sheriff used Facebook’s filtering tools to block public commenting on 11 postings, imposing broad limits on any posts made after October 29.
According to a post on the sheriff’s page on November 1, the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office is dedicated to establishing a polite, safe, and educational environment on social media. We have disabled the comments option to help make sure that our postings stay focused on offering community safety updates and instructive information about the Sheriff’s Office and what we do. Even though Facebook may indicate that comments are limited, everyone will be unable to leave a remark on any post. We’re still committed to providing information to locals, guests, and interested parties while upholding a civil online community.
Owens later expressed regret for the experience.
He told local ABC affiliate WSB, “I felt calling a deputy was the best course of action.” Looking back, it would have been better for me to simply drive away, accept the poor service, and return at a later time.
From Law&Crime, more: The manager of Shake Shack is suing the NYPD and police unions for defamation due to false allegations that officers were poisoned.
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