State Sen. Roland Gutierrez sues Texas Department of Public Safety over Uvalde shooting records

As state officials and Uvalde leaders continue to point fingers over the failed law-enforcement response to last month’s deadly school shooting, a state senator from San Antonio is suing to get answers.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, whose district includes Uvalde, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Texas Department of Public Safety, arguing that he’s been denied key documents on the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting.

DPS officials were unavailable for immediate comment.

In his petition, filed in Travis County District Court, Gutierrez accuses state officials of lying about what unfolded as the May 24 mass shooting played out, then denying access to information to families affected by the tragedy.

“To date, they have been met with lies, misstatements, and shifts of blame,” the suit states. “The State of Texas failed these families and those families deserve to know the complete, unalterable truth about what happened that day. This is a suit to demand just that.”

Gutierrez further argues that DPS violated state law by refusing to give him timely access to public records about the incident. State officials had 10 days to to respond to a May 31 open records request he sent or to ask the state attorney general to quash the request, the suit argues. They did neither, according to the petition.

In the fallout of the shooting, which claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers, Gutierrez has been a vocal critic of law enforcement’s sluggish response and of the lack of transparency about what actually took place. 

Stay on top of San Antonio news and views. Sign up for our Weekly Headlines Newsletter.

Related Stories

13 Texas state troopers among the police who waited in hallway before confronting Uvalde shooter

Until now, DPS officials haven’t publicly stated the extent of troopers’ involvement in entering the school.

Greg Abbott’s handwritten notes raise fresh questions over who ‘misled’ him about Uvalde shooting response

The nine pages of blue ink on white lined paper show how the governor prepared his remarks for a news conference May 25, the day after the shooting — presumably based on information being given to him.

Top cop at Uvalde shooting scene didn’t get word about kids trapped inside, lawmaker says

The 911 dispatcher relayed the information to Uvalde city police, not the commander at the scene, who oversees school district cops.

San Antonio Rep. Joaquin Castro says Abbott lied about what he knew about Uvalde police response

Castro said at least 2 of the 19 officers that waited in a hallway and failed to engage the gunman were from DPS.

Uvalde mom handcuffed for trying to rescue her kids now says she’s being harassed by local police

Angeli Rose Gomez says Uvalde police are parking outside her home and telling her she’s violated her probation by ‘obstructing justice.’

State Senator from San Antonio, Uvalde mayor say state isn’t aiding school-shooting families

The elected officials said one family almost had its power cut off while its child was in the hospital, while others only got ‘meager’ bereavement benefits.

Report details law enforcement errors at Uvalde shooting, including officer failing to fire at gunman

The report says delays in taking down the gunman could have meant the difference between life and death for some of the wounded.

News organizations sue Texas Department of Public Safety for withholding info on Uvalde shooting

The coalition includes the Texas Tribune, the Washington Post, the New York Times Co., CNN and other major outlets.

Uvalde families ask to join suit pushing for DPS to release public records

The lawyers for some of the Uvalde families say there is “a compelling need” for records into the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary to be publicly released.

This article appears in Jun 15-28, 2022.