The brawl between the undercover officers and members of the
Pagans motorcycle club at Kopy’s remains under investigation by the city’s
Office of Municipal Investigations, the Citizens Police Review Board and the
FBI.
Scene from Kopy's bar
The police department is also conducting its own internal
review.
Mayor Bill Peduto said new information came to light that
led to the decision to remove the officers from the narcotics unit, though he
would not specify what was discovered. He said there is no timetable for when
the investigations will wrap up.
“We felt it prudent to move all four officers out of
narcotics,” he said. A Public Safety spokesperson could not immediately be
reached for comment.
Detectives David Honick, David Lincoln, Brian Burgunder and
Brian Martin were working an undercover detail when they arrived at Kopy’s on
South 12th Street at about 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11. Six members of the Pagans arrived
about four hours later. An argument between several of the detectives and at
least one Pagan escalated into a brawl at about 12:40 a.m. Oct. 12.
Related | Pagans MC: Another member sues city officials
Related | FBI investigating Pagans MC bar fight
Four Pagans — Frank Deluca, Michael Zokaites, Erik
Heitzenrater and Bruce Thomas — were arrested. District Attorney Stephen A.
Zappala Jr. later withdrew the charges. Security footage captured the melee,
including one officer punching Deluca 19 times in the head.
Deluca and Heitzenrater have filed lawsuits, and attorneys
for the men have alleged the undercover officers were intoxicated.
Peduto previously said city police need to change the
department’s policies regarding undercover work.
“With narcotics and vice, you’re going to have situations
where officers are involved in a situation where they don’t want to have their
cover blown,” he said late last month. “Obviously you’re not going to go to a
bar and order chocolate milk, but at the same time there has to be
accountability to be able to carry out your job.”
Police have said the four undercover detectives were
investigating a drug complaint at the bar. Bartender and owner Stephen Kopy has
said the officers identified themselves as construction workers when they
arrived.
