The city has delayed releasing records regarding payments made to lawyers in lawsuits against the El Paso Police Department, even though the Texas Attorney General’s Office ruled last month that the records cannot be withheld.
The issue involves an open records request filed by El Paso Matters in May, which sought copies of legal billings from private law firms hired by the city for six lawsuits brought against the city, the Police Department and individual officers. The lawsuits alleged a variety of misconduct by police officers.
The city asked the Texas Attorney General’s Office for authorization to withhold the records, saying they were protected by attorney-client privilege.
The attorney general, in a ruling Aug. 13, said the city could redact some information in the billings, but rejected the argument that everything in a billing invoice was confidential. The ruling noted that the Texas Public Information Act states that information in legal bills is public record unless specific information is made confidential by other law.
“Accordingly, the city may not withhold the remaining information at issue on that basis. The remaining information must be released,” the attorney general ruling said.
Almost a month later, the city has not released the information to El Paso Matters. Instead, the issue has been placed on Monday’s City Council agenda for discussion in closed session. The agenda doesn’t explain what possible action the council could take.
“The discussion will allow the city’s legal counsel to brief the council on this matter, clarify any legal considerations, and guide next steps to ensure that the city’s response to your open records request is handled appropriately and in accordance with the law,” city spokesperson Laura Cruz-Acosta said in a statement to El Paso Matters.
A government transparency advocate said the city must release the requested records.
“If a governmental body is arguing to the attorney general to withhold public records, but then they’re told, ‘No, you must release them,’ then they need to proceed and release those records. The public has a right to know,” said Kelly Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.
In its filing with the attorney general in June, the city said “some responsive records have been released to the requestor,” but the city has not provided any records to El Paso Matters in response to the May request.
The city has previously released such legal billing records to El Paso Matters, with some information redacted on the grounds of attorney-client privilege. It’s not clear in the city’s filing to the attorney general why it sought to totally exclude these particular billing records.
“In recent years, the city has paid millions of taxpayer dollars to lawyers to defend the city against allegations of police misconduct,” El Paso Matters CEO Robert Moore said. “Being able to review the invoices for those lawsuits is the public’s way of holding the city accountable for how the money is being spent. That is why state law makes these documents available to the public, with some very specific exceptions for material that may be protected by attorney-client privilege. The city should have released these documents a month ago.”
Under state law, the city has essentially run out of time to challenge the attorney general’s ruling. The only option is to sue the attorney general in Travis County within 30 days of the ruling. Monday’s City Council meeting comes 33 days after the ruling.
“Why does the local government still see the need to try to fight to keep that secret?” Shannon said. “That’s a big red flag and it should cause citizens to ask a lot of questions.”
The post City of El Paso delays release of police lawsuit records despite Texas attorney general ruling appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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