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| Wrong Twin Arrested |
| By Albany Democrat-Herald |
| Published: 12/19/2005 |
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On a Saturday morning in November, Oregon police arrested a man on a warrant for parole violation after working for almost an hour to identify him. What the man didn't tell police and what they didn't learn until hours later was that he has an identical twin and both had used each other's names as aliases. Police arrested the wrong brother. The brothers are Daniel and David Owen, 54, and both have schizophrenia, said their father, Richard Owen of Albany. Richard, a member of Neighborhood Watch, said he doesn't dispute what's written in the police report, but he still has questions about the incident and how people with mental illness are treated. The events leading to Daniel Owen's mistaken arrest started about 9 a.m. Nov. 19, when someone called the Albany Police Department, reporting a suspicious vehicle. A corporal responded, and inside the car she found a man later identified as Daniel Owen who was “agitated” and “incoherent,” according to the report. The corporal called dispatch and learned the registered owner of the vehicle was Daniel Owen and there was a warrant for a David Owen, an alias Daniel had used, according to police. The man showed his driver's license to police, which identified him as Daniel Owen, and his Social Security number was only two numbers off. Police worked for almost an hour, making sure they arrested the right person. They called dispatch for a physical description of the man, which matched, and even asked about a scar on Owen's back. One police officer went to the Linn County Jail and came back with a booking photo of a man identified as “David Owen.” At that time, police determined they had the correct person, and Daniel was taken into custody. That same evening, Richard Owen learned that his son was at the Linn County Jail and contacted police to explain that he had two sons, identical twins, and said officers had arrested the wrong one. Daniel was released. Since then he has moved from the area, saying he never wants to return to Albany, his father said. The police department maintains that everything officers did that day was appropriate and that officers did a good job in trying to identify the man in the car. “We go to great lengths to identify the right person,” Police Capt. Eric Carter said. “In this case he didn't tell us he had a twin brother.” Officials at the jail were unable to get fingerprints which might have alerted police to the mix-up because of Daniel Owen's aggressive behavior, according to police. “It was unfortunate that Daniel was detained for the amount of time he was,” Carter said. When speaking about his concern for people with mental illness, Richard Owen cited the fatal shooting last month of a mentally ill man by Corvallis police. The man had raised a metal rod above his head and attempted to strike an officer, according to reports. When Daniel Owen was taken into custody, officers had their weapons pointed in a “low-ready position,” according to police. Richard, however, said his son had told him police pointed their weapons directly at him. The reason for the weapons, according to the report, was that Daniel Owen's behavior had been “unpredictable.” Police also said they didn't know if there were any weapons in the car or on him. Richard Owen also said his son told him he was denied a phone call and an attorney when he requested them at the jail. Records show that Daniel Owen was agitated and made threats to law enforcement officers while at the jail, said Capt. Joe Larsen, Linn County Jail commander. He explained that it's typical for an uncooperative person to not be allowed to use the phone until becoming cooperative. Meanwhile, the warrant for David Owen is still outstanding. |
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