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Open Carry in Roanoke (Wendy's)

NLHopkins

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A friend and I were open carrying at the Wendy’s Restaurant in Roanoke, VA. Nothing out of the ordinary took place while we were there. We walked in, ordered our food, ate and left. The only noteworthy thing that happened was that our food took twenty minutes to prepare. Horrible service

As we were pulling out of the drive I see a cop in the parking lot behind us. I look over my shoulder and he is creeping across the parking lot with his gun drawn. He is headed toward the side entrance, gun still drawn but, behind his back so that the patrons of the restaurant could not see. He heads past the side door and goes toward the back of the building. Before he turns the corner he raises and points his gun as if there were bandits awaiting him around the corner. We head back into the parking lot, still in the car and drive around the building. Once we make it all the way around we see the cop inside talking to Wendy’s management.

My friend and I aren’t sure what Wendy’s told the police to make them react in such a way but, our guess is it went something like “There are two guys here with guns. Come quick.”

If we had stayed inside Wendy’s a few more moments, we would have been at gun point.
 

Mayday

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NLHopkins wrote:
A friend and I were open carrying at the Wendy’s Restaurant in Roanoke, VA. Nothing out of the ordinary took place while we were there. We walked in, ordered our food, ate and left. The only noteworthy thing that happened was that our food took twenty minutes to prepare. Horrible service

As we were pulling out of the drive I see a cop in the parking lot behind us. I look over my shoulder and he is creeping across the parking lot with his gun drawn. He is headed toward the side entrance, gun still drawn but, behind his back so that the patrons of the restaurant could not see. He heads past the side door and goes toward the back of the building. Before he turns the corner he raises and points his gun as if there were bandits awaiting him around the corner. We head back into the parking lot, still in the car and drive around the building. Once we make it all the way around we see the cop inside talking to Wendy’s management.

My friend and I aren’t sure what Wendy’s told the police to make them react in such a way but, our guess is it went something like “There are two guys here with guns! Come quick!”

If we had stayed inside Wendy’s a few more moments, we would have been at gun point.
:what:Damn! Did you ask them to custom-make you a burger or something -- I know the Wendy's near me hates to modify the orders.
 

Citizen

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NLHopkins wrote:
SNIP My friend and I aren’t sure what Wendy’s told the police to make them react in such a way but, our guess is it went something like “There are two guys here with guns! Come quick!”


Welcome to OCDO!!!

Which Wendy's?

Date and time?



No need to stay in the dark about it. Just send a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the 911 call recording. While you are at it, you can request the incident report the officer made, if any, and the radio traffic recordings.

I would recommend finding out what happened. OCers in Roanoke don't need guns pointed at them.

If you need help making a FOIA request, there are members here willing to help.
 

hunter45

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Sounds like they were stalling for time. They wanted to wait for the Cops to come before you left, so that's why they took so long to make the food. Or, maybe that had nothing to do with it and they just took really long for no reason at all.
 

kenny

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Not knowing what jurisdiction you were in (you said Roanoke) it could have been the city, county, Salem, Vinton or others. I don't think any of those I mention would send an officer in alone. Most likely the first officer would have waited for a back-up.

The reason for wait, geez it's Wendy's how fast do you think minimum wagers work?
 

NLHopkins

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This is the adress of the Wendys

Wendys Old Fashioned Hamburgers
3555 Orange Ave NE[url=" target=_parent jstcache=][/url]
Roanoke, VA 24012
(540) 982-5652

We were there at about 8pm at night, I believe. Could have been a little bit earlier.
 

Citizen

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NLHopkins wrote:
This is the adress of the Wendys

Wendys Old Fashioned Hamburgers
3555 Orange Ave NE[url=" target=_parent jstcache=][/url]
Roanoke, VA 24012
(540) 982-5652

We were there at about 8pm at night, I believe. Could have been a little bit earlier.
Just need the date and you're good to go on your FOIA request. :)
 

hunter45

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CRF250rider1000 wrote:
wendy's down here in Norfolk was very speedy and I even got the whole staff involved in a conversation about open carry:lol: Hopefully your next experience goes better:)

How did you have a conversation with them? I've never heard a Wendy's employee that speaks English.
 

Spectre

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Richmond, Virginia, USA
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CRF250rider1000 wrote:
wendy's down here in Norfolk was very speedy and I even got the whole staff involved in a conversation about open carry:lol: Hopefully your next experience goes better:)
I've had one of those too but it was at a Chipotle on W. Broad near Short Pump.
 

Citizen

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So, are NLHopkins and Leaker going to be sending a FOIA request to find out what the cops were told and why the OP came within a whisker of having a gun pointed at them?
 

W.E.G.

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NLHopkins wrote:
As we were pulling out of the drive I see a cop... creeping across the parking lot with his gun drawn. He is headed toward the side entrance, gun still drawn but, behind his back so that the patrons of the restaurant could not see. He heads past the side door and goes toward the back of the building. Before he turns the corner he raises and points his gun as if there were bandits awaiting him around the corner.

Bwah-hah-ha-hah-ha-hah-ha-hah-ha-hah-ha!!!!!!
 

TFred

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Just a thought here... while this may seem (and it might actually be) amusing on the surface, I would bet my bottom dollar that the LEO in the story was not laughing at the time.

IMHO, the blame here goes to the dispatcher who took the call, for not discerning the facts of the case. We can't know the details without gathering the evidence, i.e. 911 recording, and dispatch logs, etc., but from the description, the LEO was just doing his job, apparently unaware of the circumstances he had been called on to answer.

I think it is of paramount importance that we continue efforts to not only educate the LEOs but the support structure behind them as well, on what is and is not appropriate behavior for law abiding citizens in Virginia.

If for no other reason, that is why the folks involved should seek out the evidence, so that steps can be taken to avoid a potential tragedy in the future.

JMHO...

TFred
 
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