One of the Americans detained for almost two weeks in Denmark over an alleged attack on an Uber driver while visiting Copenhagen at their college Spring Break said he was “shocked” that he and his friend were arrested and maintained that they are innocent.
“We were both very shocked by the fact that we were arrested over this incident,” Owen Ray told “Good Morning America” Monday, hours after he and his friend were released. “We hadn’t done anything wrong,” Ray added.
Ray, a 19-year-old who studied at Miami University in Ohio, and his named friend was detained at Copenhagen Airport on April 1 over an alleged dispute with a Uber driver the night before, Jordan Finfer, an American-based lawyer for Ray’s Family, told ABC News. Local police detained them while on their way home after considering them “flight risks,” and claiming they were planning to run from the incident, he said.
In an account that was forwarded to Finfer, who then shared the details of ABC News, Ray said he and his friend realized they had entered the wrong address to their destination – and the Uber driver allegedly refused to take them elsewhere.
Ray said they decided to cancel their uber and left the vehicle. Then, after they walked a few blocks, the Uber driver pulled up, got out of the car and “started shouting at us and thought he hadn’t been paid for Uber, but in fact he had been paid for Uber,” Ray said.
“He then came in our faces and said,” I’m calling 10 guys, “Ray said.
“We said, ‘We haven’t done anything wrong. We haven’t done anything wrong.’ Then he started a quarrel with us, “Ray said.
Owen Ray talks with “Good Morning America” from Denmark, April 14, 2025.
ABC News
“The security of anyone using the Uber app is a highest priority and we take reports of violence very seriously,” a Uber spokesman said in a statement to ABC News on Sunday. “Any additional questions about the investigation should be addressed to the Danish police,” the statement added.
The Copenhagen Police said the two students were indicted for ordinary assault.
After his arrest, Ray said he thought he would be able to explain to a judge what happened and be released.
“But then we went to the judge and we were actually told that we would be imprisoned in a Danish prison for 10 days,” he said.
Ray said he was unable to make a phone call for 36 hours after his arrest and did not know if his parents once knew where he was.
“I was originally very worried about making sure I could get in touch,” he said.
He said he was able to send a text message to her mother from a phone at court, and she ended up flying to Denmark.
“I was very relieved to have heard that she was able to do so, and grateful that she was able to,” Ray said. “I am very grateful to my family and everyone else who has supported me in this whole situation.”
Ray said it also helped that he and his friend had each other while they were detained.
“We read books, we played cards, we played chess, and fortunately we were able to get through it in a good mental state,” he said.
Owen Ray traveled to Denmark for Spring Break in March 2025.
Ray Family
Their original 10-day detention of prior trial in the midst of the investigation of the incident was then expanded until April 24, a spokesman for the Copenhagen police told ABC News.
Ray said his Danish lawyer filed an appeal last week and the judge gave their advantage on Monday and released them.
The teenager said the Danish authorities have their passports and they have to check in with the police daily until they get an update on the case. He said he believes they are waiting for either the investigative authorities to hand out the case or for a trial to be nominated.
Ray said he and his friend are in a good mental state and that he plans to maintain a positive attitude towards the test while hoping it will soon be resolved.
“I just hope that Denmark and the legal authorities here are capable of it – and the US government can help us and do what they can to help us be released at Easter so I can be home with my family,” Ray said.
“I think the best case would be for the Danish police and the prosecutor to drop the case at this time because we are completely innocent, and for them to return our passports and give us the opportunity to go back to the United States,” he said.
A spokesman for the US Department of State said on a statement on Sunday that they are “aware of media reports of two US citizens detained in Denmark. Staff at our Embassy in Copenhagen provide consular assistance.”
“The department has no higher priority than the security and security of US citizens abroad,” the statement continued. “Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comments.”
