Fort Worth council approves lawsuit to withhold police chase policy from the public

The Fort Worth City Council gave its blessing on Tuesday to a lawsuit seeking to prevent the public from knowing details about the city’s police chase policy.

All but District 8 council member Chris Nettles voted to approve the lawsuit, with District 6 council member Jared Williams not present for the vote.

The stance comes after several North Texas news outlets, including the Star-Telegram, requested copies of the policy in multiple public information requests.

Star-Telegram reporter Harriet Ramos filed an initial request in April 2023 seeking the entirety of the Fort Worth Police department’s general orders. The police department has an informational copy of its general orders posted on its website, but requires records requests for an official copy.

The April request was parred down in July to focus on the police’s vehicle pursuit policy following a pair of deaths in two separate police chases.

The city withheld the policy, arguing its disclosure would expose police tactics and put the public in danger. It asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office for permission to withhold the records citing the Texas Homeland Security Act.

Paxton’s office, which adjudicates disputes about public records, ruled in September the policy should be made public although portions could be withheld.

It also noted in a separate ruling that the city failed to respond to the records request within 10 business days, meaning under state law the requested documents are presumed to be public record.

The city is now suing the attorney general’s office in an attempt to keep the policy under wraps. It cited statues in the Texas Government Code related to the preventing and investigating of terrorism to support its claim, according to legal filings.

Several other North Texas Police Departments, including the city of Dallas, make their policies available to the public.