Court asked to rule

SANDUSKY — The Register has gone to court to pursue public records that Cedar Point police aren't sharing. On Wednesday, the Register filed a case at the Ohio Court of Claims, a state court that handles disputes over public records requests, claiming Cedar Point is not complying with Ohio's public records law. The court will make a ruling on the issue if attempts at mediation fail. The claim, listed as being filed Thursday because it had to be approved by the court, was filed by Matt Westerhold, executive editor of the Register and four other Ogden News newspapers in Norwalk, Findlay, Tiffin and Fostoria. The case states that on Sept. 1, the Register submitted a public records request to Cedar Point's police chief, for the roster of officers on Cedar Point's police force. The filing states that the Register also made public records requests for the police department's daily incident reports in a series of requests. The Register pursued the court case after a conversation with Cedar Point's lawyer, Justin Harris, failed to resolve the disagreement, the filing states. The first step in the case will be to assign it to an attorney, who will call the parties and identify the issues, said Anderson Renick, the court clerk for the Ohio Court of Claims. That sometimes resolves the issue, he said. In almost all cases, the next step is to go to mediation, using a mediator employed by the court. In about half the cases, that resolves a public records dispute Renick said. If the case is still not resolved, a special master, Jeff Clark, will make a recommendation to the court and either side can file objections. A judge with the court then makes a ruling. The judge's ruling can be appealed to a state appeals court. Harris said Friday he's aware of the Register's filing at the Ohio Court of Claims and has forwarded it to his client. "We will address the issue in accordance with Ohio law," Harris said. The Register has been pursuing its public records requests with the Cedar Point Police Department since August. On Aug. 15, Rachel Hawes, 44, of Swartz Creek, Michigan, was waiting in line for Top Thrill Dragster when a piece of metal apparently flew off the ride and hit her in the head. Hawes suffered a serious injury. Her family said in late August that she remains in critical condition. The ride has been closed for the rest of the season. The Register has sought the Cedar Point Police Department's incident report on the accident and also has asked for the police department to supply daily incident reports. Other police departments in Erie County routinely supply such reports. In its public records requests, the Register is relying on a 2015 Ohio Supreme Court case, Schiffbauer v. Banaszak. The court's 4-3 decision, resolving a battle between a student newspaper and Otterbein University, ruled the campus police are required to comply with the state's Public Records Act. Gov. Mike DeWine was Ohio's attorney general at the time and filed a brief arguing the records should be made public. Ohio law allows amusement parks, colleges, hospitals and other institutions to create private police forces, using officers receiving the same state training as other police officers. Private police officers who have received the training are allowed to carry guns and make arrests. Sandusky's police force has a police officer on duty at Cedar Point when the park is open, and when Cedar Point police believe an arrest is necessary, normally the Sandusky officer makes the arrest. That generates an arrest report that's a public record, just like any other arrest Sandusky police make, said Jared Oliver, Sandusky's police chief. Cedar Fair has a similar policy at Kings Island, its amusement park in Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati. Kings Island pays Mason to have a police officer at Kings Island when the park is open, said Capt. Jerome Deidesheimer of the Mason Police Department. "Usually in arrest type situations, the Mason police do get involved," Deidesheimer told the Register. The Ohio Court of Claims is a specialized state court in Columbus, housed at the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio Judicial Center. (Moyer, a Sandusky native and Sandusky High School graduate who died in 2010, is a former chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.) In addition to handling public records disputes, the Ohio Court of Claims hears claims against the state for money damages and also hears appeals from Attorney General decisions regarding claims filed under the Victims of Crime Compensation Program.