Report: Fired officer threatened arrest

Officer also accused of detaining daughter against her will

A Lorain police officer terminated in May over multiple allegations of professional misconduct, stemmed from concerns over his daughter’s relationship with her boyfriend.

According to an internal investigation, patrol officer John Kovach Jr. briefly detained his 18-year-old daughter and her boyfriend April 16 in the 1400 block of West 34th Street. The stop was captured on dash cam video.

On May 11, Lorain Safety-Service Director Dan Given terminated Kovach after he was found in violation of multiple Lorain Police Department standards of conduct including: gross misconduct; know and obey laws and organizational directives; competent performance; ethics and professional behavior.

In addition, the Police Department found Kovach was in violation of five additional departmental policies and procedures.

In the dash cam video obtained by The Morning

Journal, Kovach is seen ordering the 18-year-old male out of a car and threatening to take him to jail, and refusing to provide a reason, stating “Have a seat in my car. We’ll make (expletive) up as we go.”

According to the report, Kovach never notified dispatch of the traffic stop.

When Kovach noticed his daughter was in the backseat of the vehicle, he opened the door, forced her out of the vehicle and into his cruiser against her will.

During this time, she is screaming hysterically telling her father as they leave the scene, “I want you to let me out of the car.”

Kovach told investigators he wanted to take his daughter to the hospital, believing she may be suicidal based on comments she allegedly made a week prior.

In the dash cam footage, Kovach’s daughter denied this claim numerous times.

Kovach made reference to misdemeanor marijuana and a social media post indicating that if his daughter’s boyfriend needed money, he would put her out on the street (as a prostitute), according to the internal investigation report.

The investigation report written by Lt. Ed Super noted Kovach tracked the location of his daughter’s computer using GPS and also threatened to arrest a woman residing in the area if he discovered his daughter inside the home, the purported location of the computer, the report says.

After the woman initially granted Kovach permission to search the premises, he began threatening to issue a $300 seat belt ticket to the woman’s daughter, according to the report.

The woman then told him to return with a search warrant, the report says.

Kovach was placed on administrative leave April 16 pending the outcome of an investigation. His weapons and police cruiser were confiscated pending the outcome of the investigation.

In a June 20 written statement, Kyle Gelenius, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lorain Lodge No. 3, said Kovach will contest his case through the arbitration process with a hearing scheduled for September.

An initial grievance filed May 11 seeking immediate reinstatement was denied May 18.

“Officer Kovach is contesting his termination through the grievance procedure and is being afforded all of his contractual rights,” Gelenius wrote. “Because the Collective Bargaining Agreement stipulates that disciplinary procedures are private, I will reserve my comments until after the case has been decided.

“Nonetheless, Officer Kovach is looking forward to presenting his side of the story to a neutral arbitrator this coming September, when the arbitration is scheduled. We do not intend to try this discharge case in the media.”

In the grievance filing, the union contested the city’s right to terminate Kovach and raised questions about the city’s characterization of his conduct.

In a June 20 written statement, Kyle Gelenius, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lorain Lodge No. 3, said Kovach will contest his case through the arbitration process with a hearing scheduled for September.