AUSTIN, Texas — A collection of previously confidential Austin police disciplinary records known as “G-files” have been released to the public as part of the voter-approved Police Oversight Act.
The records, which contain information on officers accused of misconduct, include disciplinary recommendations from the Office of Police Oversight. Some of the cases made public involve alleged sexual harassment and failing to use objectively reasonable force while detaining a suspect.
So far, the current records include 11 documents going back to October 2020. But Austin Council Members José “Chito” Vela and Vanessa Fuentes have called for additional resources to allow the city to publish more G-file materials “as soon as possible.”
“We understand the city has received multiple requests for all G-file material we maintain in our archives,” the council members wrote on the City Council Message Board on Wednesday. “While these requests should be processed and released as soon as possible, our concern with such a large request is the time and cost it would take to retrieve and redact so many records. This could delay the release of the records for months.”
Vela, who has worked as an assistant attorney general in the Open Records Division, said compiling, reviewing and redacting decades worth of records could take months to years and cost requesters a large amount of money.
Vela and Fuentes are proposing a quicker release of a smaller portion of the requested material by having staff focus on compiling, reviewing and redacting the most recent years of G-file records.
“This would demonstrate the city's commitment to transparency and give the public an initial look into what the formerly confidential records contain,” Vela and Fuentes wrote. “If additional resources are necessary, they should be made available. If any action from Council is necessary, we are ready to assist.”
About the G-file
In 2023, voters approved the Police Oversight Act, which called for making the G-file records public.
Release of the G-file material became one of the sticking points during contract negotiations between the city and the Austin Police Association union.
In August, a Travis County judge ruled to do away with the G-file system of keeping records of police misconduct secret. Meanwhile, the city attorney released a memo saying all records of police officer conduct, whether the conduct occurred before or after the new contract, are not confidential.
The new tentative police contract provides that there will be no G-file for alleged officer misconduct during the five-year term of the agreement.
