Cowtown Sues Texas Attorney General

Lately, it seems that Fort Worth never misses an opportunity to embarrass themselves. This week, they have sued the Attorney General of Texas because he asked them to obey the public information laws. Fort Worth doesn't want to release information that has been set in law as information that the public is entitled to see.

It all started when a Fort Worth woman asked for a copy of a simple police report. Fort Worth officials read the report and then refused to release it. It seems the report, made on a domestic violence call, contained an allegation of an assault on a child. Fort Worth officials said a different law required them to not release information about child abuse investigations, and if they released the domestic violence report, they might be held responsible for violating the child abuse statutes.

Cowtown officials then asked the Attorney General for an opinion, evidently expecting him to back their position. He did not. After reading the report, the Attorney General said there was no child abuse investigation, and ordered the city to release the police report. Instead of releasing the report, Fort Worth sued the Texas Attorney General, saying he had erred in his opinion.

Fort Worth is just wrong in this case. Police reports are public information and should be released upon request, especially after the report was read and cleared by the Attorney General. Taking the matter to court just embarrasses the city and its citizens, and wastes taxpayer money. They should follow the law and release the report.

In Texas, police reports are considered public information, and by law must contain the following when released:
- the criminal offense committed
- the location of the crime
- the time it was committed
- name and description of the complaining person
- property and vehicles involved
- description of the weather [for car accidents]
- name of the investigating officer
- detailed description of the offense.