Three weeks out from our March primary, the democratic race for Cuyahoga County prosecutor is heating up.
It's a race that pits incumbent Tim McGinty against former Cleveland council member Mike O'Malley.
Tuesday's debate came at a critical time, with early voting already underway.
O'Malley, a former Cleveland council member and current Parma safety director, and McGinty sparred most over the handling of the Tamir Rice case.
FULL COVERAGE of Tamir Rice case here.
"Let me note here that Mr. O'Malley has continued to dodge the repeated questions in the newspapers and everywhere else...what would he have done in the Tamir Rice case?" asked McGinty. "Would he have indicted or not indicted? He is not answering that question. Would he have recommended that? Would he have even taken it to the grand jury? They never took it to a grand jury when he was in charge as a first assistant prosecutor. And he hasn't answered the question whether he would have charged in the Brelo case."
"I don't have all the information that Mr.McGinty had or has at his disposal but I can tell you this, I would have fairly and impartially and pursuant to the laws of criminal procedure presented those cases to the grand jury and I would have not tainted the process by introducing evidence that was improper or releasing public information or confidential information to the media," O'Malley fired back.
There is no republican running so the race comes down to what happens in the democratic primary.
