SANDUSKY, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that Cedar Point's police department must turn over records requested by three Ohio television stations, including WBNS-10TV.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that under the state's Public Records Act, the department must turn over the documents regarding an injury that occurred near the Top Thrill Dragster roller coaster in 2021 and reports of sexual misconduct over five years.
10 Investigates and our sister stations, WKYC in Cleveland and WTOL in Toledo, have been investigating incidents of sexual assault that have occurred inside the employee dorms. Our teams found 28 reports of alleged sexual assault reported to Sandusky police since 2017.
The investigation revealed how former employees felt traumatized and let down by Cedar Point after alleging they were sexually assaulted while working for the amusement park.
10 Investigates wanted to know how many additional cases have been investigated by Cedar Point's police department.
On June 2, 2022, 10 Investigates filed a public records request seeking records about incidents of sexual assault and other issues investigated by Cedar Point police. That followed a similar request that WTOL first filed in March.
The Cedar Point Police Department has sworn officers with full arrest powers who go through training with the state. Attorneys representing the TV stations argue that the police department is acting as a public agency providing public safety within the park, and therefore, should respond to public records requests.
Since then, the police chief has not responded to those requests. With no response, It's not clear if similar incidents – or how many – were investigated by the park's police department.
The state's highest court announced that there was a unanimous decision that the amusement park's police department is the "functional equivalent" of a public office, noting that park officers report to the Sandusky city manager by city ordinance and carry out the core functions of government.
In an opinion, the Court majority also directed Cedar Fair, the parent company of Cedar Point, to pay the media outlets' court costs but denied requests that the company pay for damages and attorney fees.
In a separate opinion, Chief Justice Shannon Kennedy stated that Cedar Fair should pay damages and attorney fees to the news stations.