Under Ohio law, anyone with “knowledge of the facts” is allowed to file a court affidavit and ask a judge to issue an arrest warrant. If approved, a public hearing, according to the Times, would follow the arrest.
Despite plans for community leaders to file their request for murder charges in the case on Tuesday morning (June 9), one of them supplied the Times with copies of six affidavits they plan to file, which outline the crimes they say were committed.
Ohio is among a handful of states that allow residents to request an arrest without approval from the police or prosecutors. The Rice case will be one to watch, as there isn’t much precedent regarding a citizen requesting the arrest of a police officer in a case as high-profile as this one.
s citizens,” Madison stated. “We are going to participate without even changing the law.”
