Medina County Prosecutor's Office to review case files regarding off-duty federal officers who detained man at Hinckley bar

The Medina County Prosecutor's Office is awaiting FBI files regarding a 2024 incident where off-duty federal officers detained a man at a Hinckley bar. Medina County Prosecutor Forrest Thompson said once it obtains the files, his office will review them before considering filing state charges. The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. on April 26, 2024, at the Buzzard's Roost Tavern, according to Brunswick police. In the Brunswick police's body camera footage, officers are shown talking with the people involved. It was reported that the two off-duty federal officers worked for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration. The ATF officer said they talked to another man at the bar, who they claimed was in the United States illegally. The officer then grabbed the man and held him to the ground until Brunswick police arrived, which can be seen on the body camera footage. When speaking to Brunswick police, the DEA officer made multiple comments saying the man could "blow up the mall" and called him a "terrorist." Brunswick police determined the man had a valid Texas ID. The man said he is a refugee from Eritrea who has legally lived in the United States for the past 14 years. The man was a truck driver and had a delivery at Aldi scheduled for a few days later, so he had a reservation at a nearby hotel. After he parked the truck at Aldi, the truck driver stopped by the Buzzard's Roost Tavern for a drink before he was detained by the federal officers. There was an open investigation through the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, as well as one open by the FBI. "We intend to review (the information), and if we can file charges, we will," Thompson said.