Citronelle Officer Death Was a Suicide, Mayor Confirms; Family Presses City for Answers

CITRONELLE, Ala. — The Citronelle officer death that city leaders described in May as a traffic accident was a suicide, Mayor Jason Stringer confirmed Thursday, more than five months after 26-year-old police Officer Dylan Chase Owen died while on duty. The disclosure came at an evening news conference called hours after the city was presented with findings that Owen died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and it has drawn sharp questions from Owen’s family about how the case was handled.

Stringer and Police Chief Chris McLean said the family asked that the cause of death be kept private while the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency investigated, and that the city honored that request. Owen’s family, in a written statement, said it wants transparency and accountability and believes city officials knew more than they said publicly on the day he died.

What happened on May 14

Owen, who went by Chase, was on duty and driving his patrol SUV south on North Mobile Street, across from Memorial Baptist Church, around 3:20 to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 14, when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree. He died at the scene.

On Thursday, Stringer said the preliminary autopsy found Owen died of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound, and that the injury occurred before the crash. He said city emergency responders worked for about 30 minutes to try to save Owen after he stopped breathing. McLean and ALEA personnel also responded, and state investigators took over the case once Owen was pronounced dead.

According to Stringer, ALEA notified Owen’s family and the Citronelle Police Department of the preliminary findings at the same time, at 10 a.m. on May 15.

“The family found out at the same time we did,” Stringer said.

The mayor said the investigation determined that Owen was on shift and had left the home of a former girlfriend shortly before he died. He said no one was charged and no further criminal investigation followed.

How officials described the death at the time

At a news conference on the afternoon of May 14, city leaders described the incident as a crash. McLean told reporters the department had received a call from Mobile County EMS about a traffic accident and that responding officers then learned one of their own was involved.

A transcript of that news conference shows a reporter asked directly whether the death might have been a suicide. Stringer answered that the scene was being investigated as a crash and that more information would be released when it became available. McLean then said, “It was a traffic accident,” and Stringer added that it was being investigated as one. When asked whether speeding or other factors played a role, McLean said those questions were still under investigation.

ALEA’s account differs. In a June statement, the agency said there was no crash report for the incident and that the matter would be handled entirely through a death investigation by its State Bureau of Investigation, which special agents opened around 4 p.m. on May 14.

Stringer has said that when he spoke to reporters that afternoon, he did not know Owen had a gunshot wound. On Thursday he defended the city’s handling of the case.

“Our overall goal through this entire process was to protect this family and to look out for them and their well-being and Chase’s memory,” Stringer said. “There was no effort whatsoever to cover anything up or to hide anything. We’ve not lied to anybody.”

He added: “At no point has there been any kind of conspiracy or anything to hide anything.”

Family calls for transparency

Owen’s family sees it differently. In a statement released this week, the family said it is “seeking transparency, accountability, and, above all else, the truth,” and that it is not asking for special treatment, only an honest and complete account of what happened and whether investigators met their professional and legal responsibilities, including whether everyone potentially involved was thoroughly interviewed.

The statement says the family has reason to believe that the mayor, the police chief and “Representative Stringer” were aware of the reported gunshot wound when the city publicly described the death as a vehicle accident at the scene. The statement did not elaborate on that claim.

“Truth should never be negotiable. Accountability should never be optional. And no grieving family should have to fight simply to learn what happened to someone they love,” the statement reads.

The family said its effort is not an attack on law enforcement or on the city or its elected officials, but about holding public officials to the standards they are sworn to uphold. It said it will keep pursuing the facts “wherever the evidence leads.”

Months of unanswered questions

For months, requests for information about Owen’s death went largely unanswered. ALEA, the Citronelle Police Department and the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office were each asked for details over the summer and fall. In a July 1 response to an open records request, City Clerk Lori Bryan relayed a message from McLean saying an ALEA captain had advised that the case was still pending, that investigators were waiting on evidence, and that the requested information would not normally be released while the case remained open.

As of Thursday, 162 days after Owen’s death, the district attorney’s office said it had not received ALEA’s final report, and both the DA’s office and ALEA declined to comment on the findings. Stringer said Thursday that ALEA has completed its report and that it is under review before being shared with city officials and then with the district attorney.

ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigation routinely investigates deaths involving on-duty officers in Alabama, and its findings are typically forwarded to the local district attorney for review. Neither agency has indicated when the report will be made public.

Remembering Chase Owen

Owen had served with the Citronelle Police Department for a little more than two years. He completed academy training in 2024 and graduated at the top of his class from the Mobile Police Academy, where he received the Chief’s Award, according to McLean and Owen’s obituary. At the May news conference, Stringer said he and Owen shared a birthday and that losing him felt “like losing a family member.”

In a message posted at the time of Owen’s death, Stringer wrote that he was heartbroken for Owen’s family, friends and co-workers.

“The looks in these officers eyes today was one of loss and despair. To talk with them and to attempt to comfort them and not having the words to say to help them, was hard,” he wrote.

On Thursday, McLean asked the community to remember Owen for his service rather than for the way he died.

“It takes a lot of courage to put on this badge,” McLean said. “Chase was more than a split-second decision.”

Owen’s obituary described his life as “a beacon of dedication, passion, and love,” adding that he “leaves behind a legacy of service and a memory cherished deeply by all who knew him.”

Officer mental health and where to find help

Stringer used Thursday’s news conference to call attention to suicide risk among law enforcement officers, which he said runs 50% to 60% higher than among the general public. He said he wished he could unsee what he witnessed that day.

Police work regularly exposes officers to traumatic events, long and irregular hours and stress that can build over time. Mental health experts say suicide is preventable, that warning signs often appear beforehand, and that reaching out for support is a sign of strength, not weakness. Many departments now offer peer support teams, chaplains and confidential employee assistance programs, and national organizations provide help specifically for officers and their families. COPLINE, a confidential peer support line staffed by retired officers, can be reached at 1-800-267-5463.

Citronelle is a city of a few thousand residents in northwest Mobile County, and the loss of one of its officers has been felt across the community. Friends, co-workers and neighbors who are struggling with grief after a loss like this one are encouraged to talk with someone they trust or a counselor.

If you or someone you know is struggling or having thoughts of suicide, help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or chat at 988lifeline.org. The service is free and confidential.