The firing was over an incident that occurred on April 16 when John Kovach Jr., a patrolman with the Lorain, Ohio police department since 1992, pulled over his daughter's boyfriend, Makai Coleman. When asked why, he said, "We'll make shit up as we go", and told him to get into his police cruiser.
Kovach was sacked May 11 and Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will is now reviewing the case. Questioned by fellow law enforcement officers about the incident, Kovach reportedly said he didn't think Coleman was a good person and was concerned about his daughter's well-being.
The Lorian Police Department handed officer John Kovach, Jr. his walking papers in May after they said he pulled over his daughter's boyfriend and detained him without cause before detaining his own daughter in the back of his squad vehicle, The Chronicle-Telegram reported.
Kovach told him he was going to jail - without giving a reason - and had him get in the patrol auto. When Coleman was asked to leave, Katlyn said, "If I can't be with him, I don't want to be here anymore", which Kovach took to be a suicide threat. "We'll make (expletive) up as we go".
Kovach can be seen ordering the driver out of his patrol vehicle, telling him "goodbye", as he ushers his daughter into the backseat. The cop told Smith he was anxious about his daughter because he didn't believe her boyfriend was a good person, having previously been arrested for pot possession and that Katlyn was staying with him against her parents' wishes, according to investigation reports.
"Why are you pushing me?" It is then that Kovach's daughter confronted him about using his badge and uniform to intimidate her and her boyfriend. Eventually, he releases Coleman and gets his daughter into his cruiser. "Why are you doing this?" she is heard saying. He threatens her with jail for being "disorderly" and then later says, "You're obstructing me, this is your last warning".
Kovach tells her she's going to the hospital for threatening to kill herself, which she denies in the video.
The investigation also discovered that Kovach lied to his supervisors about the traffic stop.
Safety-Service Director Dan Given said the incident has been referred to County Prosecutor Dennis Will for review.
"Officer Kovach is contesting his termination through the grievance procedure and is being afforded all of his contractual rights", Fraternal Order of Police Lodge # 3 president Kyle Gelenius told the paper. "This is why we stated HE is looking forward to presenting his side to a neutral arbitrator".
25 June 2018
