The Guardian has filed a lawsuit against the City of Chillicothe and its Police Department.
The suit was filed Friday in the Supreme Court of Ohio alleging that the city, through the police department, is withholding a public record.
The suit alleges that the Guardian requested a police report on November 20 involving a sexual assault claim. The request for the report was denied by the city’s records clerk, claiming that the case was “still under investigation.”
The Guardian’s editor, Derek Myers, emailed the Chief of Police, Ron Meyers and kindly explained that the state law and the state’s Supreme Court says that police reports are public record and are not part of the investigation, itself.
“The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly that incident and offense reports, and underlying statements and interviews, are not confidential investigatory records because they initiate an investigation and are not part of an investigation itself,” the lawsuit reads.
“Such police reports must be released immediately upon request, the court says. (And, even drafts of documents, including police incident reports, are public records if they have been shared between at least two people.),” the suit says. “Further, no information — including the names of victims, uncharged suspects and juveniles (except victims of child abuse) — can be redacted with the exception of Social Security numbers and information provided by a children services agency, the court has ruled.”
Myers said that this was not a “knee-jerk” reaction and that the police department has a “common practice” of withholding reports from the public and news media claiming the report is part of an open investigation.
“We have talked to the police chief on numerous occasions, and we have sent them the state law. We’ve pleaded with the chief to please read the material and to read up on the case law and state records laws. Without any headway — and after numerous attempts over the last 12 months — we had no choice but to hold the powerful accountable. As law enforcement officers, I’m positive the police department’s administration respects the law being enforced and that they do not take this personally. We have always had a good working relationship with the police department and we hope it continues. This is merely following the law, it is not personal on any level.”
Chief Ron Meyers, who took over as chief last month upon the retirement of interim chief Larry Bamfield, and previously, the retirement of former chief Keith Washburn, said in an email to the Guardian that the police department strives to work with news media.
“When investigations are completed and able to be released, they are. We hold nothing from anyone,” the chief wrote. “If it is under investigation, unless reviewed, it stays as a work in progress. When it is completed, it will be released. We continue to work openly with all members of the media to ensure reports are released in a timely manner.”
