3News Investigates has learned that two federal agents are under investigation after being accused of illegally detaining a man at a Medina County bar.
The agents held the truck driver because they believed — without any apparent evidence — that he was an illegal immigrant.
The incident happened at the Buzzard's Roost Sports Bar in Hinckley Township back in April.
According to body camera video, the two federal agents, one from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the other from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), were off duty and drinking at the bar.
The pair detained a fellow bar patron on suspicion that he was in this country illegally.
Officers from the neighboring Brunswick Police Department responded to the bar for a disturbance, but when they got there, they found the man on the ground being held by the two agents. The man identified himself as a truck driver from Texas and an Ethiopian immigrant.
Brunswick officers ran the truck driver's identification, which came back with no issues. The trucker told police that he's been in America for 14 years and is a U.S. citizen. The driver added that he was just having a drink when the federal agents approached him and accused him of being in the country illegally.
A copy of the video was first posted on YouTube last week and has generated more than 85,000 views.
3News is not identifying the agents involved at this point because they have yet to be charged.
Medina County Prosecutor Forrest Thompson tells 3News Investigates that the case is under review for potential unlawful restraint and disorderly conduct involving intoxication and alarm. However, he says his office is deferring to federal authorities to take any potential action first. We are also awaiting word from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland on whether any charges have been filed.
Lynna Lai reports: [ Ссылка ] --
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