Dec. 31--The attorney for a former police officer who was convicted of gun- and drug-related offenses attributed his client's actions to an addiction to painkillers that he began taking legally for injuries suffered during military service.
Ryszard Kopacz, who was accused of soliciting pain pills from residents during his dayslong stint as a police officer in Richmond, acknowledged his addiction during his sentencing hearing in a McHenry County courtroom this week.
"I take full responsibility for my actions," Kopacz told the judge, who sentenced him to four years in prison. "I disgraced myself and the uniform."
Kopacz, 32, was fired from his job in Richmond, near the Wisconsin state line, in July 2014 after residents complained that he had gone door-to-door in uniform seeking painkillers from residents of an assisted-living complex.
While investigating those allegations, authorities said they found guns in Kopacz's home that belonged to the police department in nearby Hebron, where Kopacz previously worked. Testimony at his sentencing hearing also revealed that he admitted to an FBI investigator that he also sold marijuana from his squad car and from the police station while working for Hebron.
Kopacz was found guilty earlier this year of possessing stolen weapons and, before his sentencing Monday, pleaded guilty to official misconduct related to the solicitation of painkillers and the delivery of marijuana.
At the hearing, Kopacz's attorney, Steven Goldman, pleaded with the judge to give Kopacz probation rather than prison time, noting his clean record and service in the military and in law enforcement.
Several of Kopacz's family members testified that he is a good person who provided much-needed help to family, especially a brother who is legally blind and has other challenges.
"Sending him away would hurt his family. He didn't do (his crimes) with malice. He made bad choices in life. I am asking for probation not for him, but for his family," said Goldman, adding that Kopacz's "world spiraled down" because of his addiction.
As family members wept in the courtroom, Kopacz said he was sorry and "embarrassed." He said that since losing his policing job he has done anything he can to earn money to support himself and his family, including shoveling snow and working on cars.
As for the weapons, Kopacz's camp said he never intended to keep them but simply failed to return them after losing his job in Hebron, which officials there have said was the result of budgetary constraints.
In handing down the four-year sentence, Judge Michael Feetterer said he believes Kopacz "has a lot of good in him," and a family who loves and supports him. But the judge said he could not approve probation.
Feetterer said prison was "necessary to deter others from committing the same crime."
The judge said he found it especially egregious that Kopacz committed his crimes in full uniform and that he was dealing cannabis from Hebron police property. Feetterer said Kopacz betrayed the trust of the community and other law enforcement officers.
Earlier, prosecutors named several women from whom Kopacz sought pain pills, telling them he had a toothache.
One of the women, Dolores White, testified that she found Kopacz standing at the entry to her bedroom when she heard a knock on her door and called out for the person to enter, thinking a friend had come for a visit.
She said the officer appeared nervous and was pacing.
"I was curious what the heck is his problem," she testified. "I didn't like the way he was acting."
After he left, she called a friend who advised her to get the number from his squad car. When she looked out the window, she saw him at a neighbor's door, she said.
Another woman testified that Kopacz, while in uniform for Hebron, brought marijuana to her home more than once.
Amanda Marrazzo is a freelance reporter.
