AUSTIN, Texas — The Combination Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT) claims that the Open Records Division of the Travis County District Attorney's Office violated state law by releasing confidential records of several Austin police officers, as well as retired police chief Joseph Chacon.
A letter from CLEAT to the DA's office states that most of the records released were related to an internal affairs investigation where no disciplinary action was taken, and that the records should have been protected.
"They're no longer with the department, and all of this information should be protected, so we absolutely have the documents in our hands that we can see what exactly was released," Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock, who called on CLEAT to look into the matter, said.
The confidential records mentioned are known as the "G-File," which are personnel files of officers. Those files are currently at the center of a legal battle.
The Austin political action group Equity Action filed a lawsuit in December 2023 against the city and several leaders – including District Attorney José Garza – for not implementing the voter-approved measure Prop A.
KVUE reached out to Equity Action about the allegations, but we were told more needed to be learned before a comment could be provided.
KVUE also reached out to Garza. His office provided the following statement:
“Unsurprisingly, the allegations contained in the letter are false.”
In response, Bullock said despite the DA denying the allegations, the alleged release of the records still needed to be looked into.
"That prompts some pretty serious concerns on our end when we're going around the protections that are guaranteed to officers," Bullock said.
KVUE reached out to CLEAT, but no one was available for an interview at the time of publication.