The Texas Department of Public Safety has appealed a judge’s ruling to release records from the Uvalde school shooting.
The filing of the appeal on Friday means that the records could take months, possibly years, from being released.
A state district court judge in Austin last week ruled that DPS must release records regarding the law enforcement response to the May 24, 2022, massacre at Robb Elementary School that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers. KSAT 12 News and more than a dozen media organizations filed a lawsuit on Aug. 1, 2022, asking a judge to order the release of the records.
The requests for information were filed under the Texas Public Information Act by local, state, and national newsrooms. However, DPS officials refused to release them, citing a pending investigation exemption.
Records we’re asking for include emails, unredacted body-worn cameras and other video footage, call logs, 911 records and other emergency communications, interview notes, forensic and ballistic records, and lists of DPS personnel who responded to the tragedy.
According to the Texas House of Representatives Investigative Committee on the Robb Elementary Shooting report released in July 2022, DPS had 91 of its officers respond to the shooting.
Brett Cross, guardian of Uziyah Garcia — who was killed in the shooting — says if DPS files an appeal, it assures him that their response to the shooting wasn’t sufficient.
“They are covering up for themselves, and they are covering up for other people, and that they do not plan to hold anybody accountable,” Cross said.
Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell tried to intervene on behalf of DPS in the ongoing lawsuit, but the judge blocked her from doing so in September.
The media organizations include the following:
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The Texas Tribune
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Dow Jones & Co.
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Graham Media Group, Houston
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Graham Media Group, San Antonio
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The New York Times Company
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Pro Publica, Inc.
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Scripps Media
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The Washington Post
Find more Uvalde coverage on KSAT.com here
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