Cleveland officer found guilty on 4 counts for incident at bar with man he thought was undocumented On Monday afternoon, a jury found an off-duty Cleveland police officer guilty of four counts for an incident at a bar with a man he thought was in the country illegally. MEDINA COUNTY, Ohio - On Monday afternoon, a jury found an off-duty Cleveland police officer guilty of four counts for an incident at a bar with a man he thought was in the country illegally. Cleveland Police Detective Donald KopchaK was found guilty of two counts of abduction, one count of assault, and one count of ethnic intimidation. Kopchak’s trial began March 23 in front of Medina County Court of Common Pleas Judge Joyce Kimbler and the jury got the case the afternoon of March 27. Kopchak, who was also on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms task force at the time, will be sentenced on June 11.In February, Kopchak’s co-defendant, Portage County Deputy Daniel LaJack, pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of attempted abduction. RELATED: Cleveland officer, ex-DEA agent suspected of unlawfully detaining man at bar they call ‘illegal’ The charges stem from an incident that happened around 11:50 p.m. on April 26, 2024 at Buzzard’s Roost Bar in Hinckley Township. Both men were off-duty when they confronted a patron and identified themselves as federal law enforcement officers. The situation escalated when the officer physically restrained and assaulted the victim while removing him from the tavern, according to the release from the Medina County Prosecutor’s Office. RELATED: Northeast Ohio officer accused of illegally detaining man at bar hired by Portage County Sheriff “I’m not gonna be the guy on the news like, oh you’re on a f****ing security cam this guy ends up blowing the f***ing mall up tomorrow f**k no, don’t care,” one of the involved officers said in a Brunswick police body camera video. “Don’t care who I offend, dude.” Body-camera footage also shows one officer pinning the victim to the ground when Brunswick police arrived on scene. “This guy’s not from this country,” the Cleveland police officer told the responding officer. “So we started fighting with him or whatever, so here we are, he’s holding him down.”“He’s not from this country,” the CPD officer responded. Brunswick police said the victim, a 38-year-old refugee from Ethiopia, has been in the United States for 14 years and has a valid commercial driver’s license from Texas. PREVIOUS: U.S. Attorney’s Office takes over case against Cleveland officer, ex-DEA agent suspected of unlawfully detaining man at bar On Aug. 28, 2025 Cleveland police confirmed Kopchak has been placed on unpaid administrative leave effective immediately, pending the outcome of the legal proceedings. The Cleveland Division of Police takes these matters seriously and remains committed to upholding the integrity of the department and the trust of the community we serve. Due process is a fundamental principle, and the officers are entitled to a fair and impartial legal process. LaJack resigned from the Lake County Narcotics Agency in December 2024 and was later hired by the Portage County Sheriff’s Office. We have reached out to the Portage County Sheriff on his current employment status, but have not heard back yet.Preliminary autopsy results revealed for American college student found dead in water in SpainLake County corrections officer/SWAT team member passes awayThousands of dollars worth of cosmetics stolen from Bay Village Walgreens