Fort Worth sues Texas attorney general in attempt to block release of police chase policy

In a bid to withhold information on police procedures from the Star-Telegram and other North Texas news organizations, the City of Fort Worth has filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after his office said records about police policy on vehicle pursuits had to be released.

Star-Telegram reporter Harriet Ramos in April 2023 filed an open records request with the Fort Worth Police Department for a copy of its official general orders. The Star-Telegram submitted a more specific request on July 7, 2023, seeking only the department’s policy on making decisions about when to initiate, continue or call off a vehicle pursuit. The request came after two people, including a teenage girl, were killed in separate police chases over the summer.

In July, Andra Craig, 57, was killed when his vehicle was hit by a police SUV involved in a pursuit, ejecting him from the vehicle. Craig was a bystander and was not involved in the chase.

The teenager, a 15-year-old girl, was killed in June while she was a passenger in a truck being pursued by police that crashed into a pole during the chase.

In response to both requests, the city asked Paxton for permission to withhold the records under the Texas Homeland Security Act.

Paxton’s office, which reviews requests by governments in Texas to withhold information requested under the Texas Public Information Act, determined that the official general orders were public record and needed to be released with some portions exempted. The office said in one ruling that the city failed to demonstrate how the information fell under the Texas Homeland Security Act’s protections of information for public release.

His office also noted, as the city acknowledged in its request to withhold documents, that the city violated the public information act when it did not comply with the mandated time limitations for responding to an open records request.

The law allows the governments to release the information or seek permission to withhold records as soon as possible and allows no more than 10 business days to do so. Failure to request permission to withhold records within that time period creates a legal presumption that the requested documents are public records.

The initial Star-Telegram request was followed by similar requests from the Fort Worth Report and CBS, according to the lawsuit. The city argued in its request to withhold information that releasing the documents could interfere with the department’s ability to “prevent, detect, respond to, and investigate acts of terrorism or related to criminal activity.”

The attorney general’s office handed down an opinion on July 17, 2023, that portions of the full official general orders requested by the Star-Telegram could be withheld but that the department could not decline to release the full document. The city did not demonstrate that releasing the documents would violate Texas law that protects certain internal documents from public information requests.

In an opinion on the Star-Telegram’s second request, for just the portions of the order about police pursuits, Paxton’s office said the city had not demonstrated that the documents met the criteria to be exempted from open records requests and required the records be released.

The Attorney General’s Office did allow the city to withhold a police report someone requested in relation to the crashes.

The city says in the lawsuit filed in September in Travis County that it is seeking relief from the attorney general’s rulings because it believes the information is confidential. It argues that the determination of when to call off a vehicle pursuit is tactical information that, if made public, would interfere with the department’s ability to prevent, detect or investigate crimes.

In addition to requesting a court declare that the requested records can be kept away from the public, the city is requesting attorneys fees and an order that the attorney general’s office pay the costs of the lawsuit.

In his response to the lawsuit filed with the court, Paxton requests the court deny all the city’s requests and rule that the information is subject to release under the Texas Public Information Act.

The Fort Worth City Council is scheduled to vote at its meeting Tuesday on whether to ratify the lawsuit.

Several other North Texas police departments, including Dallas police, make their chase policies public.