Marsy's Law: Does victims' rights law apply to Cincinnati officers who shot armed man?

The Cincinnati Police Department has refused to release the names of the four officers who fired their weapons in the fatal police shooting of Juan Mack near Music Hall last week.

Citing Marsy's Law, the department only released information about which district the officers worked in and how long they had been with the department. They assigned the officers numbers instead of using their names.

For at least the last decade, Cincinnati police have released the names of officers involved in fatal shootings within a day of the incident.

From the editor: Marsy's Law wasn't intended to shield the identity of police officers | Opinion

Ohio voters approved Marsy’s Law as a constitutional amendment in 2017. It included a series of measures meant to protect victims of crime. The Legislature took years to turn the amendment into enforceable laws that include mandatory notifications about hearings, the status of defendants and the right to speak at court proceedings.

Under Marsy's Law, crime victims can opt to have their names withheld from public release by filling out a form provided by police or prosecutors. As a result, several police departments across the state have refused to release the names of officers involved in critical incidents claiming the officers are victims.

Cincinnati has released officer names post-shooting for decades

Releasing the names of officers who use force on citizens is among the accountability measures included in Cincinnati's Collaborative Agreement. The landmark police reform agreement between the city, residents and police came in the wake of the police shooting of Timothy Thomas in 2001 and civil unrest that followed. The Department of Justice came to Cincinnati at the city's request to review the Cincinnati Police Department and helped forge the agreement.

The city solicitor's office said Wednesday that it is evaluating The Enquirer's request.

Law enforcement agencies sued in Columbus, Akron

Hiding the names of officers has already been legally challenged twice in the Columbus area. Both cases are still pending before the Ohio Supreme Court.

The Blendon Township Police Department refused to release the names of two officers involved in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young. Young was approached by officers after a report of shoplifting and refused to turn off her vehicle. Body camera footage shows an officer standing in front of her car when her vehicle moves. The officer then fired at her.

In that case, the Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center filed a complaint on behalf of Young's family. The Ohio Supreme Court has ordered the police department to release the names to the court but has not ordered that the names be made public.

More: Marsy’s Law was meant to protect crime victims. It now hides the identities of cops who use force.

The Enquirer's sister paper, The Columbus Dispatch, has sued for the release of the names of officers involved in multiple deadly shootings and other uses of force.

In one incident, the Columbus Police Department refused to release the identities of eight officers involved in a shootout July 6 on Interstate 70 that left a suspected bank robber dead and an officer injured.

The Akron Beacon Journal, another sister organization to The Enquirer, has also sued Akron police over the same issue.

Florida court rules Marsy's Law does not grant anonymity for police, victims

USA TODAY and ProPublica investigated the law in 2020 and found dozens of examples of the law being used in Florida to shield the names of police officers. As of October 2023, 17 states had passed Marsy's Law provisions.

However, last November the Florida Supreme Court ruled that Marsy's Law does not guarantee anonymity for police officers or any victim. As the Florida law was written, it gave the victims the right to "prevent the disclosure or information or records that could be used to locate or harass the victim (or their family)."

The Florida court ruled that this does not include the victim's identity.

The Ohio Constitution calls for victims to be treated with "fairness and respect for the victim's safety, dignity and privacy" and to be given "reasonable protection from the accused or any person acting on behalf of the accused."

Following the amendment's passage, Ohio Senate and House bills amended the state's revised code for the privacy of victim's information in 2023 to include the redaction of names from all case documents.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Does Marsy's Law apply to Cincinnati officers who shot armed man?