AUSTIN, Texas– A group of news organizations on Wednesday asked a Texas appeals court to order the release of Department of Public Safety data on law enforcement’s response to the Shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvaldethe latest dispute over what should be made public in the wake of one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.
A Travis County judge previously ordered state police to release its records after news organizations requested access. The state and the Uvalde district attorney objected, arguing their release could jeopardize law enforcement’s investigation, and the state appealed to keep them out of public view.
During a hearing before the 15th Court of Appeals, Laura Prather, a lawyer for the media organizations, called the attempt to block the data “an attempt to shroud the entire file in secrecy forever.” We are talking about the most important failure of law enforcement. in Texas history…The public interest could not be greater.”
One judge on the panel noted that the DPS records contain more than 6 million pages of documents and hundreds of hours of video.
The prosecutor’s objection was enough to block the release under Texas law, said Texas Assistant Solicitor General Sara Baumgardner.
“(The media) can make all the inflammatory accusations about DPS they want,” Baumgardner said. “Texas courts have recognized that the entity best positioned to know what could hinder a prosecution is the actual prosecutor, not a bunch of news media.”
The appeals court has not indicated when it will rule on the case. Any decision can be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
A gunman stormed the school on May 24, 2022, killing 19 fourth-grade students and two teachers. More than 370 responding officers from multiple local, state and federal agencies waited for more than an hour to confront and kill the gunman.
Other details of the Uvalde shooting have been released. DPS has selectively released some of these findings at press conferences and public hearings at the Legislature.
In August, Uvalde officials released a notice huge collection of audio and video recordings from body cameras and surveillance videos after a lengthy legal battle.
Multiple reports of federal state officials have exposed cascading problems in law enforcement training, communications, leadership and technology, questioning whether officers are prioritizing their own lives over those of children and teachers.
Two former Uvalde schools police officers face charges criminal prosecution about their actions that day, and several victims or their families have filed complaints multiple state and federal lawsuits.
The Associated Press was not among the news organizations filing a lawsuit.