The Ohio Attorney General’s office will be taking over as special prosecutor looking into the death of Tanisha Anderson.
The Cuyahoga County sheriff’s department has been investigating the incident since last June, and this week informed County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty that his office faced a conflict of interest in the case. A written statement from McGinty’s office says a county judge today approved his motion for a special prosecutor.
In November 2014, Anderson died while being restrained by Cleveland police who had responded to a 911 call about a family member in distress. Anderson had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, according to her family.
A spokesperson for the Attorney General says the office’s special prosecution unit took over the case Wednesday and has not yet received any files. He declined to comment on the status of the sheriff’s investigation or if the change of prosecutor would mean a longer time frame for deciding whether to bring the case to a grand jury.
The Cuyahoga County medical examiner found Anderson’s death was associated with heart disease, mental illness and with being physically restrained while in the prone position.
