Davis County Sheriff’s Office issues statement on inmate fooling officers with false identity
Oct 18, 2023, 10:13 PM | Updated: 10:16 pm
Adam Burdick was arrested by Davis County officers in November of 2022 and posed as his brother, Andrew Burdick. (Davis County Sheriff's Office)
(Davis County Sheriff's Office)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Davis County Sheriff’s Office released a statement about an inmate’s mistaken identity and questions raised against their booking procedures.
It stated in a social media post that it wanted to reach the public “unedited and unfiltered.”
The statement details the arrest of Adam Burdick in November of 2022. He successfully impersonated his brother, Andrew Burdick, when he was arrested. He then maintained the ruse from when he was arrested until after he was released in January of 2023.
Seven months later, in August, the sheriff’s office learned of the deception. Though, the statement did not clarify how.
“Once the Davis County Sheriff’s Office became aware that Adam Burdick knowingly and intentionally deceived all parties, an investigation was opened to determine what took place, why this false identity was not discovered sooner, and how we could improve our processes moving forward to ensure such an event did not occur in the future,” it said.
The explanation begins with the fact Adam Burdick did not have a government-issued photo ID on him at the time of the arrest. His photo was taken by booking officers, but it was not recognized as out of the ordinary.
Lastly, the statement said that Bureau of Criminal Identification regulations do not require officers to take fingerprints after an arrest and that Adam Burdick’s arrest was not in a category that required fingerprints.
“Jail personnel followed established protocols; however, those protocols proved to be insufficient in this case,” the statement said.
The statement says Adam Burdick has now been charged with forgery and providing false information; though official charges are determined by the County Attorney’s Office, not the police.
Media reported the deception in September while the statement from the sheriff’s office suggests another story is forthcoming. Listed in the statement are procedures that Davis County will undergo changes in order to prevent a similar instance from happening.
They have also published a video online for the public to view, of an interview with Sheriff Kelly Sparks and Chief Deputy Arnold Butcher on the matter.
The Statement
