Police/Media Hoax? Story of Employees Taking Refuge in Freezer from Open Carriers in Texas

Gun Watch ^ | 13 May, 2014 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

The widely reported story that Jack in the Box employees locked themselves in the freezer because they feared open carry activists is almost certainly a hoax.  The event was reported to have happened at a Jack in the Box in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

This video report by NBC5 reporter Ken Kalthoff shows Irwin Harris saying that they entered the restaurant and were served without any fuss.  He said they ordered, received their food, and left.   The police told NBC5 that the employees then went into the cooler for protection.   That seems a little odd... lock yourself in the freezer *after* the armed men act politely, pay for their purchases, and walk out?   The only thing NBC5 has to show this is an email from the police.  The Jack in the Box people refused to talk to the reporter.

Open Carry Texas has more.  They requested the 911 calls to the police for the incident.   They say there was only one, and they put it on YouTube.  The caller simply describes the open carriers as casually walking, with one of them filming the others.  They also contacted Jack in the Box, where officials deny that employees were ever in fear of their life.  From the Open Carry Texas YouTube that includes the audio of the 911 call:

"Jack in the Box officials deny their employees were in fear of their lives or locked  themselves in a freezer."

While I was not there, it certainly appears that we have another media frenzy against open carriers, that amounts to a hoax.   The idea that employees locked themselves in the freezer *after* the open carriers left, and were so scared that they never called 911, and even denied that it ever happened to their bosses, is simply unbelievable.

Can we believe that the police sent an unverified email to a media outlet...

It seems much more likely to me.

This can use a bit more investigation.   I would like to see the police email, and figure out where it came from.   Maybe a Jack in the Box employee jokingly made a comment to police that got blown up, but it seems very likely that fear and "locking in the freezer" never happened.

 ©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

[marktwain]

Hard to say where the story came from, until we learn more. Clearly the Open Carry Texas people were smeared.

[Jet Jaguar]

Bump

[Tijeras_Slim]

Since when can you lock yourself inside a freezer? Plus, if they’re so concerned, the freezer is the last place to go...

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

Texas Penal Code - Section 37.11. Impersonating Public Servant

§ 37.11. IMPERSONATING PUBLIC SERVANT.

(a) A person commits an offense if he:
(1) impersonates a public servant with intent to induce another to submit to his pretended official authority or to
rely on his pretended official acts; or
(2) knowingly purports to exercise any function of a
public servant or of a public office, including that of a judge and court, and the position or office through which he purports to exercise a function of a public servant or public office has no lawful existence under the constitution or laws of this state or of the United States.

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third
degree.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 189, § 7, eff. May 21, 1997.

This being said, if an actual email was sent from the police department, it is a matter of public record. If it was not, someone has committed a felony.

[Jonty30]

B

[CrazyIvan]

Cooler! (Great Escape)

[Clintons Are White Trash]

I was at a Hooters when the waitress (we were friends with her) pointed out someone who was open carrying. She was not happy - I told her he was probably the least of her worries that night and to let him eat go his way. She did :)

[marktwain]

Here is the report the Forbes reporter relied on:

On May 1st the F.W.P.D. received a call stating four males were carrying assault rifles in the parking lot of the Jack-in-the-Box located at Sycamore School Road and South Freeway.

Upon arrival, officers discovered a group of 4-6 males carrying rifles. The men reported that they were conducting an Open Carry Demonstration.

Officers spoke with Jack-in-the-Box employees who reported that they feared for their lives and believed they were being robbed. They locked themselves inside a freezer for protection out of fear the rifle-carrying men would rob them.

The demonstration had no signage that would have alerted anyone to their real purpose, and to our knowledge they did not attempt to contact anyone in the Fort Worth Police Department to advise us prior to the demonstration.

A patrol supervisor made the scene and spoke with members of the demonstration. He explained that in the future it would be advantageous if they carried large signage or flags declaring their purpose. He also gave them the number to the local police station so they could advise police prior to their next demonstration.

The initial call was #140326011.

We respect the rights of all citizens to peacefully protest and the right to bear arms. However, we cannot stress enough how a simple phone call to police prior to this demonstration and the use of easily visible signage could have avoided un-necessarily alarming the public.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/05/06/will-jack-in-the-box-ban-guns-after-open-carry-demo-sees-workers-hide-in-freezer/

[Mastador1]

Since when can you lock yourself inside a freezer? Plus, if they’re so concerned, the freezer is the last place to go...

You can't, hasn't been possible to be locked in a freezer for years, not unless they put a hasp and lock on the freezer and even then someone else would have to do the locking. And besides that, what kind of an idiots would lock themselves in a confined area if they were afraid of someone with a gun?

[njslim]

Jack in the Box .......

YUCH!!!!

[Fai Mao]

“And besides that, what kind of an idiots would lock themselves in a confined area if they were afraid of someone with a gun?”

Only people who have never worked at a restaurant would say or believe this.

[Rodamala]

[cva66snipe]

B.S. You can not lock yourself in a freezer nor can you lock anyone inside a freezer. The door latch is made to open up from the inside even if a padlock is through the latch.

[Mastador1]

Only people who have never worked at a restaurant would say or believe this.

Not sure where you're going with that. I happen to have 25 years experience working in a restaurant and I just said that. The last place I'm going to be is inside a room whose walls consist of thin sheet metal and some insulating foam that a bullet would cut through like butter!

[Mastador1]

Only people who have never worked at a restaurant would say or believe this.

Not sure where you're going with that. I happen to have 25 years experience working in a restaurant and I just said that. The last place I'm going to be is inside a room whose walls consist of thin sheet metal and some insulating foam that a bullet would cut through like butter!

[Fai Mao]

“Not sure where you’re going with that. I happen to have 25 years experience working in a restaurant and I just said that. The last place I’m going to be is inside a room whose walls consist of thin sheet metal and some insulating foam that a bullet would cut through like butter!”

I am sorry if I was not clear.

I meant that if you’d worked in a restaurant you’d know that you cannot lock yourself in a freezer. The lever or button inside the freezer will open it even if a padlock is placed on the outside of the latch so the only way to be locked in a freezer is if there is a bolt or hasp installed as an after-market item and it would probably be illegal.

Only people that have never worked with a commercial freezer would even think this is possible. Commercial freezers cannot be locked from the inside.

[Mastador1]

Ok, sorry missed where you were going with that. Almost forty years ago I had to show my employer that a lock through the factory handle did not secure a walk - in. He did not believe me until I just yanked the door ope with the lock in place. That was the reason for my comment that you needed a hasp and lock and only someone else could lock you in. Even before the panic release setup they used to put a fire axe inside some freezers.

[OneWingedShark]

Texas Penal Code - Section 37.11. Impersonating Public Servant

§ 37.11. IMPERSONATING PUBLIC SERVANT.

I'd like to see this used on ATF and DEA agents... that'd be an interesting case.

[Objective Scrutator]

“Jack in the Box officials deny their employees were in fear of their lives or locked themselves in a freezer.”

The general gun owner community consists of responsible members of society. I do hope open carry laws become ubiquitous; once they do, maybe the panhandlers, beggars, Greenpeace solicitors, and the rest of the criminal scum of society will try to hide inside a freezer.