Police Chief Hospitalized After Collapsing

Oxnard Police Chief Robert Owens collapsed and was rushed to a hospital Sunday night after his heart apparently stopped beating, Owens’ physician said Monday.

Owens, 59, was in serious condition in the Cardiac Care Unit at St. John’s Regional Medical Center, said Dr. S.N. Charles Cho, who described Owens as “comfortable and alert.”

Authorities said Owens was still undergoing tests to determine the exact cause of the blackout, but a temporary pacemaker was inserted. Cho said the chief may get a permanent pacemaker.

Owens, who celebrated his 20th anniversary with the Oxnard Police Department in February, was “back to his old self and joking,” Cho said.

Owens collapsed Sunday night, several hours after he returned from a three-day conference in San Diego with his wife, Linda, whom he married only six weeks ago, said William Cady, assistant chief of police.

“He was going to go up and go to bed and he just collapsed,” Cady said.

When paramedics arrived at 8:20 p.m., Owens’ heart was beating only 20 times per minute, compared to the normal 60 to 80 beats per minute, Cho said.

Cho said it appeared that a cold virus that had bothered Owens for the past week infected and inflamed his heart muscle, causing it to cease functioning correctly. When the heart stopped beating momentarily, Owens collapsed, Cho said.

Owens has a condition that affects the electrical impulses in the heart, Cho said. The condition was discovered by a routine electrocardiogram in 1975 but has never been a problem, Cho said. He said he did not believe the electrical problem and the collapse are related.

Owens should be able to return to part-time duty about a week after he returns home, Cho said.

Owens is an athletic man who often plays in racquetball tournaments and is in “excellent shape physically,” Cho said.

Cady said the chief’s hospitalization came as a surprise in the department.

“Everybody’s a little shocked because he’s happy-go-lucky and a real feel-good person,” Cady said.