Notice of arrests are being mailed, with underage drinking, open container, public indecency, destruction of property and arson among the charges being brought against those involved in the riots two weeks ago.
“We’ve had calls come in every day from ex-girlfriends, brother-in-laws and even parents identifying the people in the pictures from the night of the riots,” said Sherry Mercurio, spokeswoman for the Columbus Division of Police.
The process of identifying people involved in the riots is tedious and time consuming. There is no timeline on how long it will take, but police and the university intend to continue as long as the phone calls keep coming in and people are still being identified, Mecurio said.
Columbus police went door to door in the areas of the riots asking residents if there was damage done that had not yet been reported, or if they could identify any persons in the pictures they carried with them.
“We have very good footage from that night,” Mercurio said. “There are even people looking straight into the camera like they were auditioning for a show.”
There will be a link from the Columbus police Web site to the Ohio State site where picture libraries are being established. Photographs will be sent to The Columbus Dispatch, The Lantern, television stations and anyone who will show them to get as many identifications as possible.
In a normal circumstance, for example, someone arrested for underage drinking could face a maximum of $1,000 in fines and up to six months in prison.
“In my opinion, the riots are separate and the fines will be higher in this situation,” said Frank Williams, deputy clerk for Franklin County Municipal Court.
OSU has sent letters to any student who has been correctly identified as participating in the riots to notify them of the charges brought before them. The university is working to ensure the students’ rights and is following the judicial procedures defined in the Code of Student Conduct.
“Each case is considered individually. The final outcome of the student hearings is very confidential,” said Ruth Gerstner, spokeswoman for Student Affairs.
Student Affairs wants all students to know the overall outcome and the punishments that students receive in hopes of preventing such riots from happening in the future.
Law 3345.22 of the Ohio Revised Code may be put into effect for the cases concerning Ohio State students who are arrested for their behavior during the riots.
This law states that if any student, faculty or staff member, or employee of a college of university that received any state funding is arrested for any offense covered in the law shall be afforded a hearing to determine whether the person shall be immediately suspended from the college or university. According to this law, students who attend OSU and are arrested in conjunction with the riots will be suspended from the university, and may also face expulsion.
“Verifying the names and photographs takes time and that’s why there haven’t been many arrests, but we don’t have a deadline,” Mercurio said.
