What started as an off-duty night at a neighborhood bar in Hinckley is now headed to a Medina County courtroom. A Cleveland police detective is set to stand trial Monday over a confrontation that prosecutors say ended with a man pinned to the ground and detained because the off-duty officers believed he was in the country illegally. Body-camera footage and witness accounts led to a grand jury indictment and have stirred familiar questions about racial profiling and how far federal task-force authority stretches when local officers are off the clock. One of the two men involved has already pleaded guilty, leaving jurors to decide whether the remaining officer crossed the line from concern to criminal conduct.
Trial Starts Monday, While Co-Defendant Awaits Sentencing
Medina County jurors are scheduled to hear the case against Cleveland Police Detective Donald Kopchak beginning Monday in the Court of Common Pleas, where he faces two counts of abduction, ethnic intimidation and assault, according to WOIO/Cleveland19. His co-defendant, former Lake County narcotics agent Daniel Lajack, pleaded guilty in February to a reduced charge of attempted abduction and is set to be sentenced Thursday, local coverage shows. The plea and upcoming sentencing were reported by the Medina Gazette.
Body-Cam Footage Shows Barroom Confrontation Spilling Outside
Video from responding officers’ body cameras, released in local reporting, shows the off-duty men confronting a patron inside Buzzard’s Roost Tavern, then restraining him on the ground outside the bar, with one officer heard saying, “this guy's not from this country,” according to News 5 Cleveland. The footage also captures one of the men saying he did not want to be “the guy on the news” if the patron later became a threat, language prosecutors highlight as they argue the detention was fueled by bias rather than clear evidence of danger. Witness statements and the recordings form the backbone of the county’s case.
The Man Officers Held on the Ground
Medina County records and reporting identify the man who was detained as a 38-year-old refugee from Ethiopia who has lived in the United States for 14 years and holds a commercial driver’s license from Texas, according to WOIO/Cleveland19. Local coverage indicates he was in the area to make a delivery that night and that the encounter began after the two off-duty officers questioned where he was from while they were all inside the bar.
Internal Reviews, Job Fallout and the Stakes in Court
The episode triggered several reviews. Both officers were assigned to federal task forces at the time, and agencies examined their conduct before the Medina County indictment was handed up, according to Ideastream Public Media. After the indictment, Cleveland police placed Kopchak on unpaid administrative leave, and Lajack resigned from the Lake County Narcotics Agency while facing internal discipline, News 5 Cleveland reports. Prosecutors note that the felony abduction and ethnic intimidation charges carry potential collateral fallout, including restrictions on firearms possession if convictions are returned.
What Comes Next in the Hinckley Bar Case
Monday’s proceedings will center on whether jurors find the remaining evidence strong enough to convict Kopchak on the felony counts. Lajack’s sentencing is scheduled for Thursday in the same courthouse, giving Medina County residents a close-up look at how the justice system is sorting out a late-night off-duty encounter that escalated from barroom questions to a criminal trial.
