UVALDE, Texas — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is appealing a judge's recent order that the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) must release law enforcement records related to the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.
On Nov. 30, a Travis County state district judge ordered DPS to release the Uvalde records, more than a year after a group of news organizations – including KVUE's parent company, TEGNA – sued for access. The judge ordered DPS to fulfill 28 records requests filed by the news organizations, subject to redactions like police officers' personal information and blurring the faces of minor victims in crime scene photos.
Now, Paxton, representing DPS, has filed an appeal of the judge's order. DPS cited a request from the Uvalde County District Attorney to withhold the records.
DPS has previously argued that releasing the records could interfere with ongoing investigations into the shooting. However, as The Texas Tribune reports, DPS said it had completed its initial report on the shooting and provided it to the Uvalde County DA's Office.
In the time between the shooting on May 24, 2022, and news organizations filing their lawsuit in August, DPS only selectively released information about the shooting.
The Texas Tribune reports that Uvalde County DA Christina Mitchell has also opposed disclosure of records to the news organizations. She has said their release could harm her investigation into any potential criminal charges she could pursue based on the DPS investigation.