201810.11
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Two LAPD patrol officers share night shift duties and more: They’re identical twins

by in News

Edward and Robert Bolanos share a double bond as brothers in blue.

The 38-year-old identical twins both serve as patrol officers assigned to the Los Angeles Police Department’s Topanga Division.

“You’re kind of like doubling up on the same person because they’re such good people and good workers,” said LAPD Sgt. Zoltan Mako, a watch commander at the Canoga Park station. “It’s like having two for the price of one, so to speak.”

While the brothers, who both work night shifts, aren’t usually paired together as partners, they often are aware when the other gets dispatched to a potentially dangerous call. They can hear when there’s urgency in the other’s voice over the police radio. They think alike and finish each other’s sentences.

“There have been times when my brother will ask for an additional unit or even a backup” on the radio, Edward Bolanos said. “I can sense something in his voice that’s something wrong. I immediately try to respond there.”

Robert Bolanos echoed that sentiment, saying that in those situations he does his best to help his brother any way he can.

The twins aren’t only assigned to the same police station. They also share a home in Ventura County, where they were mostly raised. Their days off are usually spent together.

“We’re each other’s best friends,” Robert Bolanos said.

Both men tend to be private with others about their personal lives, according to their older brother, Alex.  However, each of them knows “every aspect” of the other’s life, he said.

Alex Bolanos, 51, said he witnessed a sort of “hidden communication” between the twins growing up that “I think still exists today.”

But as close as the Bolanos twins are, they said they would never overreact on the job because of it.

“We’re both very level-headed,” Robert Bolanos said.

Their superiors agree. On a recent night shift, Edward Bolanos appeared unflustered but firm as he took a hostile, drunken suspect into custody after he illegally entered his ex-girlfriend’s home.

“They’re very calm – almost like a Buddha,” Sgt. Alex Kim, a patrol sergeant, later said of the twin brothers. “They don’t talk unless you ask them a question.”

The brothers acknowledge that being identical twins has caused some confusion at the station and occasionally on the street.

“There have been numerous times where I’ve responded to radio calls and the person I’m speaking to says ‘Weren’t you just here a few days ago?’” Robert Bolanos said.

He said he apologizes and explains that he has a twin brother assigned to the same station.

“I never know if they’re taking me seriously or if (they think) I’m joking,” he said grinning.

Even their co-workers admit they can’t always tell the pair apart, particularly now that they’ve both been on the night shift.

“I’m not going to say that I haven’t mistaken one for the other in the hallway … but not lately, “ Mako said.

Fortunately, there are cues. Edward is shyer, for example, and has a more serious demeanor; Robert is more outgoing. While they have slightly different physical builds, Edward said he recently lost nearly 25 pounds and looks even more like his brother than before.

Their parents, originally from Costa Rica, named the twins after former former U.S. Sens. Robert and Edward “Ted” Kennedy.

While their family worries about their safety, they’re also “very supportive” of their decisions, the twins say.

Their brother, Alex, keeps a close eye on the news and is usually the first one to call to make sure they’re safe, if not their mother, Robert Bolanos said.

When Robert joined his brother at the Topanga station in 2009, Edward said he was excited about the prospect of working with his brother. He even put in a formal request to become his regular patrol partner.

“I remember (LAPD Capt. Maureen Ryan) saying: ‘That’s not going to happen!’” Edward mused.

Mako noted that having them work together regularly as partners could cause more confusion.

“If one is talking to a witness or something and doing the investigation, and the other one is in the backyard or something looking at evidence, and then all of a sudden they are together, for a moment, the witness might think, ‘Oh, was this the one I was talking to….or was I talking to this one?’” Mako said.

Edward, who initially had hopes of becoming a firefighter, was the first to join the police department as a recruit in 2005. He liked that his job taught him about the law while allowing him to do something different every day.

Meanwhile, Robert – who had long worked for a tax software company – would hear about Edward’s vehicle pursuits and suspect chases with interest. The thrill of the job led him to apply. He started the Los Angeles Police Academy in 2007.

“I can’t see myself doing anything else,” Robert said.

While the twins enjoy target shooting, scuba diving, and camping together, they do take separate vacations. This fall, Edward will go on a hunting trip to Colorado while Robert will travel to Thailand.

When Robert was previously engaged to be married, he wanted to spend significant time with Edward, which put a strain on his romantic relationship, he said.

Their brother, Alex, has suggested the two of them go to an annual twin festival in Ohio to meet other twins.

Meanwhile, Edward has wondered what he would do if his brother were to transfer to another police station. He figures he’d probably just follow along.

That would be just fine for Robert, who sees his brother as his “other half.”

“I look at ourselves as a whole,” Robert said, noting he regularly turns to his brother for advice.

The feeling, of course, is mutual.

“I was going to say the same thing,” Edward said.