More than two years ago, Jon Kozesky filed a public records request to learn the name of a Cleveland police officer who issued him a traffic ticket.
As part of his request, Kozesky included the officer's badge number, the time of the traffic stop and the police district he was traveling through.
Then he waited.
And he waited.
On Wednesday, 764 days after he filed his request, he spoke for the first time with someone at the city about his request. The person told him this: It could take more time to dig up the information he sought.
Kozesky is the latest victim of the city of Cleveland's notorious failure to provide public records in a timely manner, as required by state law.
Attorney David Marburger, an expert on Ohio's public records law who co-authored a book on the subject in 2011, described the way the city handled Kozesky's request as "outrageous."
"What do they have, like 30 officers who all have the same badge number," Marburger said in an interview. "That's laughable. It's just too funny."
Law Director Barbara Langhenry, whose department handles requests for public records, was not immediately available for comment.
Ohio law requires that public records be "promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any person at all reasonable times during regular business hours." Copies must be provided "within a reasonable period of time."