Newly-formed appeals court hears arguments for release of Uvalde school shooting state records
DALLAS - Attorneys for a group of news organizations are asking a new panel of judges to order the release of state documents connected to the Uvalde, Texas school shooting.
A Travis County judge had okayed the release of records before the state appealed, halting the process.
The group argues the public deserves to know everything about, what they call, the most significant law enforcement failure in state history.
On Wednesday, a panel of judges heard arguments on whether to order the release DPS records related to the Uvalde school shooting.
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The nearly 600-page report details the ‘cascading failures’ of the first responders at the mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, who waited more than an hour to confront the shooter.
Laura Prather represents the Texas Tribune and 13 other news outlets.
"We're talking about the most significant law enforcement failure in Texas history that they would like to cloak in secrecy forever from the general public. The public interest couldn't be higher," she said.
In 2023, a Travis County judge ordered the release of some records.
This photo taken on May 24, 2023 shows pictures of victims of a school mass shooting placed at the former Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the United States. The one-year anniversary of the school shooting killing 19 pupils and two teachers i
The state appealed the decision soon after and argued the release of the information could interfere with witness recollection for other trial cases involving the mass shooting.
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"No good investigator worth his or herself is going to turn over information that could interfere with the prosecution while the prosecution is ongoing," said Sara Baumgardner, assistant solicitor general for the Texas AG’s Office. "Texas courts have recognized that the entity in the best interest to know what would interfere with the prosecution is the actual prosecutor. Not a bunch of news outlets."
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911 calls, body camera footage and surveillance videos from May 24, 2022 were included in a massive collection released by Uvalde city officials after a prolonged legal fight.
In court on Wednesday - the state revealed there are roughly 2.8 terabytes of data from the investigation file that haven't been released.
Prather believes the public deserves to see the full picture of what happened.
"There's no investigation to be protected here anymore," she said. "The shooter is dead, and the investigation is closed. So there's no reason for this information not to come out."
UVALDE, TX - AUGUST 24: The sun sets behind the memorial for the victims of the massacre at Robb Elementary School on August 24, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. The Consolidated Independent School District Board today fired Police Chief Pete Arredondo over po
Portions of body camera footage from that day have already been shared with the public.
Prather says those videos were voluntarily shared with news outlets by the city of Uvalde.
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Texas judge orders sheriff, school district to release Uvalde school shooting records
The school district and sheriff’s office in Uvalde must release their records and documents related to the Robb Elementary School shooting — including police body camera footage, 911 calls and communications, a Texas district court judge ruled.
A question regarding the additional body camera footage was posed to the state by Chief Justice Scott Brister.
"Body camera footage, it is what it is. It shows what it shows. It’s not going to change," he said. "I mean I understand the problem about witnesses, and we can talk about those. But that is not gonna change. It is what it is, and why does that need to be kept secret?"
This was one of the first cases heard by the newly created Texas 15th Court of Appeals.
The court opened in September, and the judges were appointed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Prather says the court’s decision on the case will have a lasting impact.
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"I don't think you can overstate the amount of impact the decision in this case will have on open records in the state of Texas and on law enforcement and whether or not law enforcement can act with impunity," she said.
The court asked the state if they could share the files used in the Travis County Trial Court. The state responded that they would work to make them accessible to the judges.
Prather told FOX 4 she doesn’t know when the court could issue its opinion on the case.