A man specializing in public records law is taking the county by storm and suing local agencies at will.

Brian Bardwell, 26, of Akron, heads the group “Citizens for Sunshine,” which seeks to make sure government agencies comply with state law.

His mission is simple: If public agencies don’t give him the records the public’s entitled to, he sues.

“It’s something I really, really care a lot about,” he said. “The government is never going to do the right thing if nobody is making sure they are, and nobody can make sure they are if they don’t give up their records.”

The Ohio Public Records Law refers to a citizen’s right to prompt inspection of public records and, upon request, the right to copies of those public records within a reasonable period of time.

Agencies must also adhere to recent additions to the law, which include not asking why the records were requested or who is requesting them, and the agency in question must cite specific legal justifications if the records can’t be reviewed.

Bardwell, a former Chronicle reporter, has filed 10 lawsuits in Lorain County and two in Cuyahoga County. He recently collected $1,500 from the city of Parma when the city realized it wasn’t in compliance with the law.

The Lorain County agencies being sued include: Amherst Police Department, Elyria Police Department, Avon Lake Police Department, Vermilion Police Department, Wellington Police Department, Southern Lorain County Ambulance District, South Amherst Police Department, North Ridgeville Police Department and the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office.

When contacted, many agencies had not yet received notification that they were being sued, and withheld comment until they could see the lawsuit.

North Ridgeville police Chief Richard Thomas said he couldn’t talk about the pending suit because he, too, hadn’t yet been notified, but he said his department complies with each request, regardless of how unusual it’s been.

So would Thomas classify Bardwell’s approach as a thorn in his side? Nope. Thomas said he’ll put up with it as long as Bardwell, too, obeys the law.

 “There’s nothing wrong with a guy being passionate about that,” he said.

Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.

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