Sitterly ignores state law

NORWALK — Just one county prosecutor out of five sent public records requests asking for records related to Brady cops failed to answer the inquiry: Huron County prosecutor James Sitterly. Sitterly Brady cops are police officers with past disciplinary problems or criminal convictions prosecutors are required to disclose to defense attorneys if the officer is going to be a witness at a criminal trial. The lists that prosecutors' offices are required to maintain are part of the protocols developed after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling ordering that acts of dishonesty and past criminal conviction be disclosed. The prosecutors in Erie, Ottawa, Hancock and Seneca counties all responded to the public records request. Sitterly, who was sent the first request at the same time as the other prosecutors, also was sent a second and third request. He ignored all three requests. It's unknown if Sitterly understands his responsibilities under the Ohio Public Records Act to respond to records requests. The law — ORC 149.43 — requires public office holders and directors of public agencies to maintain public records and provide those records to any member of the public when requested. Most public records are required to be disclosed by the law, but there are a few exemptions, such as medical records, records related to ongoing investigations and a few other record types. But the spirit and intent of the state law is for the custodians of public records to release them upon request. There is no part of the statute that gives a public official the right to ignore inquiries, which Sitterly has done numerous times since he was first elected in 2016. In September 2021, he ignored requests for information about a rape complaint and whether he was in compliance with state law requiring him to keep a victim informed about the progress of an investigation. In January 2022, he ignored records requests for an arrest report of a city worker. Sitterly did not respond to a written request for comment about his failure to respond. An assistant county prosecutor who did later respond failed to provide the records required to be disclosed, suggesting erroneously that the records were exempt. The other county prosecutors who did respond provided some detail. In Ottawa County, there are five Brady cops, including the Put-in-Bay police chief and a top commander; in Erie County 11 police officers — most of whom are no longer employed by local agencies — were identified as Brady cops. In Seneca County, one officer was identified as a Brady cop and there weren't any Brady cops in Hancock County.