BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Body cameras and dashboard cameras can provide some of the clearest evidence of what happens during encounters between law enforcement officers and the public.
But in Texas, those recordings are not always available to the public, even when questions are raised about an officer’s actions or how an incident was handled.
KBTX recently confirmed that firsthand while attempting to independently verify allegations made by a rookie police officer involving a traffic stop here in the Brazos Valley.
The allegations claimed that a high-ranking, off-duty law enforcement officer received preferential treatment after being stopped for driving well above the posted speed limit while en route to a training event.
The rookie police officer who brought the allegations to KBTX claimed that the off-duty officer from another agency became irate and lashed out at him after he was stopped for speeding and refused to return to his vehicle when told to do so.
The rookie officer, who immediately resigned after this encounter, said he was troubled by what happened and disappointed in his Field Training Officer’s decision to let the off-duty officer go without a warning or citation.
“I was informed by my Field Training Officer that we don’t handcuff other officers, and was told about giving courtesy to other officers. I disagree. Just because he has a badge doesn’t mean he is above the law. He could have hurt someone, and he should have at least received a citation,” he said.
KBTX has chosen not to identify the officers or law enforcement agencies involved in this report because we have been unable to independently verify those allegations.
We do know there was video of the encounter, and KBTX asked to see it. We were told no, in part because the recording is protected by Texas law because there was no arrest or conviction as a result of the incident
KBTX sought the video to verify the claims
Rather than simply reporting the allegations as fact, KBTX submitted a public information request seeking body-worn camera and dashboard-camera recordings from the traffic stop that occurred around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 26.
Those recordings could potentially answer important questions about what happened, what was said, and how the situation was handled.
The law enforcement agency that possesses the recordings asked the Texas Attorney General’s Office for permission to withhold them. In its request, city attorneys cited provisions of the Texas Public Information Act and state law governing evidentiary recordings.
The request argued that the traffic investigation did not result in a conviction or deferred adjudication; therefore, the recordings could be withheld from public disclosure, and the Attorney General’s Office has agreed.
In an opinion received by KBTX on Tuesday, the Attorney General concluded that the requested information may be withheld under Section 552.108(a)(2) of the Texas Government Code.
That means KBTX will not receive the recordings needed to independently determine whether the allegations made to our newsroom are supported by the footage captured by the cameras.
What does Texas law say?
Section 552.108 of the Texas Government Code is an exception to the state’s public information requirements for certain law enforcement and prosecutorial records.
One portion of the law, Section 552.108(a)(2), applies to information dealing with the detection, investigation, or prosecution of a crime when the investigation does not result in a conviction or deferred adjudication.
Under that provision, the information may be withheld from public disclosure, and in this case, the Attorney General determined the governmental body could use that exception to withhold the recordings KBTX requested.
Why KBTX pursued the recordings
KBTX routinely seeks public records as part of our reporting, particularly when those records could confirm or contradict claims made by sources.
In this case, a source made serious allegations about how a law enforcement encounter was handled. Those allegations alone are not enough for KBTX to determine what happened. The body-camera and dashboard-camera recordings could have provided independent evidence.
Without access to those recordings, KBTX cannot verify whether the allegations are accurate, whether they lack important context, or whether the video contradicts them altogether.
For that reason, we are not presenting the allegations as established fact.
We are sharing this story instead because the outcome of our records request illustrates something Texas taxpayers may not realize: cameras purchased and operated by public law enforcement agencies do not necessarily produce recordings the public will ultimately be allowed to see.
State law provides exceptions that governmental bodies may invoke to withhold certain law enforcement records, including in cases that result in no conviction or deferred adjudication.
In this case, KBTX asked for copies of, or to view, the recordings so we could independently determine what happened.
Under current Texas law, we may never get to see them.
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