Former school board chief jailed after violating order
Kapfhammer drove past home of his alleged victim.
Former Oregon school board president P.J. Kapfhammer was arrested Monday and booked in the Lucas County Jail after police say he violated a protection order for a man he’s accused of assaulting last month at a bar.
According to an affidavit filed in Oregon Municipal Court, an Oregon Police officer witnessed Kapfhammer drive past the home of Michael O’Connor shortly after 2 a.m. Monday. O’Connor has an active protection order against Kapfhammer, which states the defendant is not to be within 500 feet of him.
Kapfhammer posted $50,000 bond and was released. He was ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device.
“I was going home and I drove down the road,” Kapfhammer said. “I didn’t know that would violate it. I didn’t see him, didn’t go near him. I didn’t go to his house or start anything with him.”
Kapfhammer also faces charges of assault and aggravated menacing after police say he attacked O’Connor June 23 at an Oregon bar.
Oregon Police say Kapfhammer, 46, entered The Den, 5781 Corduroy Road, pushed his way through several people standing around O’Connor, and started fighting him.
Kapfhammer is accused of grabbing Mr. O’Connor by his face and neck, and shoving him into a wall. O’Connor suffered a laceration to the back of his head, a police report shows. Kapfhammer also made “numerous specific and direct threats” to O’Connor about killing him.
Kapfhammer said he and O’Connor used to be friends, but O’Connor started seeing his ex-fiancee after they split up. O’Connor is an Oregon Police officer, but was off-duty during the alleged assault.
“I ran into him and pushed him,” he said. “I shouldn’t have done it.”
He was taken to Lucas County Jail and was later released on a $5,000 bond June 23. Kapfhammer also had to relinquish his conceal carry permit and firearms.
A pretrial for the assault and menacing charges is set for Aug. 14 in Toledo Municipal Court. Oregon Judge Louis Kovacs recused himself.
In 2013, Kapfhammer was found guilty of disorderly conduct after shouting profanities and threatening a man at Clay High School. He resigned in June 2014, saying only at the time that it was for personal reasons.