Watchdog criticizes Adams County sheriff over public records delays

Chris Hicks says the Adams County Sheriff's Office has treated Ohio public-records law as optional, after repeated delays and runaround on requests tied to the Christopher Lindner case. A video posted by Hicks shows part of a May 20 call with Sheriff Kenny Dick that did not resolve the dispute after several days of waiting for compliance.

The records fight centers on a shooting that has kept Adams County under intense scrutiny since November 14, 2025, when Christopher Lindner, 40, was killed after a 911 call, a vehicle chase and a standoff at a family property on Brush Creek Road near Manchester. The Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigated the incident, and body-camera footage released in December 2025 added new details about the pursuit and standoff. On February 19, 2026, Adams County Prosecutor Aaron E. Haslam said no criminal charges would be filed and said the officers’ use of deadly force was justified.

Ohio law gives “any person” access to government records under the Public Records Act, R.C. 149.43, and requires records to be made available promptly. The Ohio Attorney General’s Sunshine Laws materials say public records should be available for inspection during regular business hours and include a model public-records policy for law enforcement agencies, along with guidance on charging for video records. The Adams County Sheriff's Office says requests can be submitted for public records, inmate records, warrant searches and case files through its public records request page.

The sheriff’s office is listed at 110 West Main Street in West Union, with regular business hours Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. That makes the delay question central: when a county office is open, fields requests through a public system and holds records tied to a fatal shooting that still shapes local trust, the public expects prompt access, not repeated back-and-forth.

The dispute also lands in a county already defined by persistent fights over transparency. Hicks has been involved in other Adams County legal disputes, including a separate Ohio Supreme Court case involving Aaron Haslam’s voter registration and residency challenge. In a community still weighing the aftermath of the Lindner shooting, each stalled request deepens the argument over whether county government is meeting its duty to let residents see how law enforcement operates.