CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty's office on Wednesday announced that the Ohio Attorney General's Office will take over the investigation into the Cleveland police killing of Tanisha Anderson.

The request came within hours after the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office handed its findings over to McGinty's office. Sheriff's investigators found "facts that created a conflict of interest" with McGinty's office.

As a result, prosecutors asked Common Pleas Judge John J. Russo Tuesday to appoint a special prosecutor in Anderson's November 2014 death.

The release did not specify what conflicts exist in the case, but Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mary McGrath cited "Brady/Garrity" laws in Tuesday's court filing. The laws protect statements made by police officers to supervisors from being used in criminal investigations.

Russo approved McGrath's request on Wednesday.

Anderson's case became one of several that brought national attention to Cleveland police and the department use-of-force policies. The 37-year-old suffered from a mental illness, and her family called police Nov. 12 after she became unruly at the home of a family member.

Anderson struggled with officers Scott Aldridge and Bryan Myers, who were trying to put her into a police cruiser and take her to a hospital, police said.

Anderson's family said one of the officers used a take-down move on her, placed his knee on her back and handcuffed her, before she stopped moving.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Anderson's death a homicide, and said that she died while being restrained in a prone position. Obesity and other health factors also contributed to her death, the office said.

Her family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in January that claims the officers left Anderson's half-naked body exposed to the public, didn't provide her with medical care and told her family that she was "sleeping."

Detectives in the Sheriff's department have been investigating Anderson's death since June.

The move by McGinty comes amid a period of continued criticism from community activists and leaders over the lack of an indictment in the Tamir Rice case.

McGinty has said he supports legislation that would allow Ohio prosecutors to ask that the Attorney General's Office present evidence in police killings to grand juries.

His opponent in the March 15 primary, former Assistant County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley, criticized McGinity's handling of the Tamir Rice investigation and called for legislation that would require the Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigations to investigate all police shootings. Such a law would not apply in Anderson's case.

McGinty's spokesman, Joe Frolik, denied that politics played a role in the decision.

"A set of facts presented themselves, and a decision had to be made," Frolik said.

Ohio Sen. Sandra Williams, a Cleveland Democrat who sponsored a bill that would require the Attorney General's Office to investigate all police killings of unarmed suspects, praised the move.

"A significant number of mental health advocates and constituent groups have expressed their discontent with the lack of crisis intervention training in our current criminal justice system," Williams said. "The appointment of a special prosecutor, now more than ever, highlights the need for independent investigations in all use of force cases that results in the death of a suspect where there is a question regarding use of lethal force or when the suspect has developmental disabilities."

Anderson's death came less than a month before the release of an exhaustive U.S. Department of Justice investigation that found, among other issues, Cleveland police officers did not properly de-escalatate situations to avoid using force against many people with mental illnesses.

As part of a settlement with the Justice Department, the city agreed to train all officers in crisis intervention tactics.

David Malik, an attorney representing the Anderson family in the case, said in a phone interview Wednesday that news of the move caught the family by surprise.

"We were unaware that this was going to happen," Malik said. "We're more or less along for the ride like everyone else."

Malik said he was scheduled to bring witnesses to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Department on Friday, and had even confirmed the appointment with the office Wednesday before hearing about the McGinty's decision on the news.

cleveland.com reporter Jane Morice contributed to this report.