One American was detained for almost two weeks in Denmark because of the alleged attack on a Uber driver when visiting Copenhagen on the spring holiday they said he was “surprised” that he and his friend were arrested and stated that they were innocent.
“The two of us were very surprised about the fact that we were arrested for this incident,” Owen Ray told “Good Morning America” on Monday, a few hours after he and his friend were released. “We didn’t make a mistake,” Ray added.
Ray, a 19 -year -old child studying at the University of Miami in Ohio, and his unnamed friend was detained at Copenhagen Airport on April 1 for alleged disputes with a Uber driver on the night, Jordan Finance, a Ray family lawyer based in the US, told ABC News. Local police arrested them as they headed home after thinking they were “flight risk,” claimed they planned to run away from the incident, he said.
In an account delivered to the final, who then shared details with ABC News, Ray said he and his friend realized that they had entered the wrong address for their purpose – and Uber drivers allegedly refused to bring him to another place.
Ray said they decided to cancel their Uber and leave the vehicle. Then, after they walked a few blocks, the Uber driver stopped, got out of the car and “started shouting at us, thinking he had not been paid for Uber, but in reality, he had been paid for Uber,” Ray said.
“He then entered our faces and said, ‘I will call 10 people,'” Ray said.
“We said, ‘We didn’t make a mistake. We didn’t make a mistake.’ He then started a fight with us, “said Ray.
Owen Ray spoke with “Good Morning America” from Denmark, April 14, 2025.
ABC News
“The safety of everyone who uses the Uber application is a top priority, and we respond to reports of violence very seriously,” a spokesman Uber said in a statement to ABC News on Sunday. “Every additional question about the investigation must be directed to Danish police,” the statement added.
Copenhagen police said the two students were charged with a general attack.
After his arrest, Ray said he thought he would be able to explain to the judge what happened and released.
“But then we went to the judge, and we were really told that we would be imprisoned in Denmark prison for 10 days,” he said.
Ray said he could not make phone calls for 36 hours after his arrest and did not know whether his parents even knew where he was.
“At first I was very worried to make sure that I could make contact,” he said.
He said he could send a message to his mother from the phone in court, and he finally flew to Denmark.
“I am very relieved to have heard that he can do that, and thankful he can,” said Ray. “I am very grateful to my family and all those who have supported me throughout this situation.”
Ray said it also helped that he and his friends had each other when they were detained.
“We read a book, we played cards, we play chess and fortunately we can pass it in good mental conditions,” he said.
10 of their initial days, the pre-trial detention in the middle of the investigation of the incident was then extended until April 24, the Copenhagen Police spokesman told ABC News.
Ray said that his lawyer Denmark filed an appeal last week, and the judge decided to support them on Monday, released them.
The teenager said the Danish authorities had their passports and they had to check -in with the police every day until they got an update about this case. He said he was sure they were waiting for the investigation authority to cancel this case or for the date of the trial set.
Ray said he and his friend were in a good mental condition, and that he planned to maintain a positive attitude about the ordeal while hoping it would soon be resolved.
“I only hope that Denmark and legal authority here can – and the US government can help us and do what they can help us be released on Easter, so I can go home with my family,” Ray said.
“I think the best case is for Danish police and prosecutors to cancel the case at this time, because we are really innocent, and for them to return our passports and allow us to return to the United States,” he said.
A spokesman for the US State Department said in a statement on Sunday that they “knew the media report about two US citizens detained in Denmark. Staff at our embassy at Copenhagen provided consular assistance.”
“The department does not have a higher priority than the safety and security of US citizens abroad,” the statement continued. “Because of privacy considerations, we don’t have further comments.”