A coalition of news organizations has petitioned a Texas appeals court to compel the release of the Department of Public Safety (DPS) records concerning the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde. Previously, a Travis County judge had ordered the state police to release these records after the coalition's legal challenge. However, objections from the state and Uvalde district attorney, citing potential impacts on ongoing investigations, have resulted in an appeal to block the public release. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the 2022 mass shooting.
During a hearing at the 15th Court of Appeals, media lawyer Laura Prather criticized efforts to keep the records confidential as an "attempt to cloak the entire file in secrecy forever," emphasizing the high public interest due to the shooting being described as a significant law enforcement failure in Texas. The present contention centers on over 6 million pages and hundreds of hours of video, yet under Texas law, the district attorney's objection effectively prevents their release. The state's legal stance emphasizes deference to prosecutors as the authorities best suited to judge the potential interference with ongoing prosecutions.
While it remains uncertain when the appeals court will decide, any ruling could be escalated to the Texas Supreme Court. Notably, this push for transparency follows the selective disclosure of other incident records and the release of substantial audio and video footage after legal proceedings in August. These records underscore a series of failings in law enforcement's response, prompting criminal charges against two former officers and several lawsuits by victims' families. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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