Texas: Judge Rules Police Could Withhold Uvalde School Shooting Records Amid State Plea

A Texas judge has ruled in favor of the State's Department of Public Safety (DPS) in withholding the highly-sought after documents and records on the Uvalde Shooting Massacre.

According to the judge ruling, the petitioner, Senator Roland Gutierrez, failed to properly file his request under the Texas Public Records law, which prompted the unfavorable ruling.

Aside from Senator Gutierrez, various national and local media outlets have also launched a massive lawsuit against the DPS for the same reason of withholding public records.

Judge Rules in Favor of Texas Department of Public Safety on Withholding Uvalde Shooting Documents

The Texas Tribune reported that Travis County 419th Civil District Court Judge Catherine A. Mauzy ruled that the DPS is not obligated to turn over the Uvalde School Shooting documents that Senator Roland Gutierrez has requested.

Mauzy's ruling was described to be "narrow" since the judgment was based entirely on technicality. She noted that since Gutierrez did not file the complaint under Texas Public Information Act, the DPS is not obligated to do it.

Last June, District 19 Senator Roland Gutierrez filed the said lawsuit alleging that the DPS has violated public records law by ignoring his request for the necessary reports.

"It is most absurd that Department of Public Safety continues to fight even the most benign distribution of documents, like a training manual. And they refuse to do it because they're culpable of their negligence and malfeasance on that day," Gutierrez said in a statement.

Because of Mauzy's ruling, this still grants the DPS "reprieve" for withholding relevant information to the public about how and why the law enforcement agency acted the way they did on the tragic Uvalde school shooting massacre.

In last week's hearing, Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Busbee urged Mauzy to side with the DPS, saying that she has asked all state government agencies not to release any information about the Uvalde school shooting, to not compromise the integrity of the ongoing investigations conducted by the FBI and DPS' separate unit.

Local, National Media Outlets File Lawsuit Against DPS for Withholding Uvalde Shooting Docs

Earlier this month, a coalition of local and national news organizations launched a full-blown attack against the Texas Department of Public Safety for the same reason of withholding public documents of the Uvalde shooting massacre.

Filed under the Texas Public Information Act, they have particularly noted that DA Busbee said initially that she is not conducting a criminal investigation about the incident, therefore the documents could be accessible to the public, and by extension, the media.

"The Texas Department of Public Safety has offered inconsistent accounts of how law enforcement responded to the Uvalde tragedy, and its lack of transparency has stirred suspicion and frustration in a community that is still struggling with grief and shock," the news coalition lawyer said.

As of this writing, the case filed by the various media outlets is still ongoing and has not reached a verdict yet.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Ivan Korrs

WATCH: Roland Gutierrez discusses his lawsuit against DPS over Uvalde records - From KXAN