Tag Archives: DPS

DPS can keep Uvalde info secret for now

Posted on August 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully not for much longer. A state district judge ruled Wednesday that the Department of Public Safety does not have to turn over records related to the Uvalde school shooting sought by state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who had sued the … Continue reading →

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How would HISD’s police respond to an active shooter incident?

Posted on August 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a question we would all rather not have to think about, but this is the world we live in. And at this time, the answer that Superintendent Millard House gave to that question was not reassuring. Houston ISD’s police … Continue reading →

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State ordered to turn over voter purge data

Posted on August 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Very good. A federal judge ruled this week that the state is violating U.S. law by refusing to release its list of more than 11,000 registered voters that it identified as potential noncitizens, and ordered the release of the data … Continue reading →

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News orgs sue DPS over Uvalde info

Posted on August 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Same annoying story, part whatever. Getting public records about this tragedy shouldn’t be this hard to do. More than a dozen news organizations filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Public Safety on Monday, accusing the agency of unlawfully … Continue reading →

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Uvalde school board asks for a special session on guns

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They’re not going to get it, just like everyone else who has asked that Greg Abbott Do Something about them. The Uvalde school board is formally urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call state lawmakers back to Austin so they can … Continue reading →

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Uvalde school superintendent recommends firing Arredondo

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I suspect he’ll get his wish. Uvalde school officials will decide the fate of district police Chief Pete Arredondo during a special meeting Saturday after Superintendent Hal Harrell recommended the police chief’s firing. The meeting falls almost two months after … Continue reading →

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Now DPS is checking on its officers that were at the Uvalde mass shooting?

Posted on July 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have one simple question about this. The Texas Department of Public Safety is reviewing how 91 state troopers and Rangers responded to the Robb Elementary School shooting to determine if any violated policies or laws. The agency’s announcement Monday … Continue reading →

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House committee report on the Uvalde massacre

Posted on July 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The special State House committee that was tasked with investigating the response to the Uvalde mass shooting released its report yesterday. The report identified numerous failures, in law enforcement and in the school and in other systems, though it’s clear … Continue reading →

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Uvalde video to be released

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is the right thing to do. The Texas House committee investigating the Uvalde school shooting plans to release video footage of the incident on Sunday, Rep. Dustin Burrows said. Burrows, a Lubbock Republican and the committee’s chairman, said Tuesday … Continue reading →

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Are we going to get law enforcement video from Uvalde or not?

Posted on July 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Still waiting. A bureaucratic spat over whether to release video from inside Robb Elementary School during the May 24 mass shooting grew increasingly complex on Monday after a key Texas state legislator suggested that there was now finally an agreement … Continue reading →

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Border and immigration news roundup

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Same deal, too much news, yadda yadda yadda… As Abbott orders state police to return migrants to border, critics on the right say it’s not enough. Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday authorized state law enforcement to return migrants suspected of … Continue reading →

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Uvalde mayor disputes report that police missed opportunity to shoot gunman

Posted on July 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’re still arguing over the basic facts of this tragedy. Uvalde’s mayor on Friday denied a recent report that said a city police officer had an opportunity to shoot the 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers inside … Continue reading →

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Uvalde updates

Posted on July 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Too much news, so time for a news dump. Uvalde shooting victims aren’t getting compensated from state fund as intended, officials say. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said Monday that families of the Uvalde shooting victims … Continue reading →

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Congressional Dems ask Paxton to release Uvalde info

Posted on June 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

He won’t, because he sucks, but you gotta ask. Nine Democratic members of the U.S. House from Texas on Tuesday called on Attorney General Ken Paxton to order the release of government records related to the May 24 school shooting … Continue reading →

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Uvalde versus DPS

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Someone’s not happy. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin on Tuesday accused state authorities of selectively releasing information about last month’s school shooting to scapegoat local law enforcement and intentionally leaving out details about the state’s response to the massacre. New details … Continue reading →

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DPS pins the blame on Arredondo

Posted on June 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Look out for that bus! Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told a state Senate committee Tuesday that the law enforcement response to the Uvalde school shooting was an “abject failure” and police could have stopped the shooter at … Continue reading →

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What were Uvalde police actually doing at Robb Elementary?

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll say it again: The more we learn about the law enforcement response to the Uvalde massacre, the worse it looks. Surveillance footage shows that police never tried to open a door to two classrooms at Robb Elementary School in … Continue reading →

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There’s a lot of resistance to releasing information about Uvalde

Posted on June 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. The City of Uvalde and its police department are working with a private law firm to prevent the release of nearly any record related to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in which 19 children and two teachers … Continue reading →

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What was DPS doing during the Uvalde massacre?

Posted on June 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not much, it would seem. As many as 13 troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety waited in a hallway at one point during a gunman’s rampage that killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in … Continue reading →

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Uvalde’s police chief speaks

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll reserve judgment for now. Only a locked classroom door stood between Pete Arredondo and a chance to bring down the gunman. It was sturdily built with a steel jamb, impossible to kick in. He wanted a key. One goddamn … Continue reading →

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Justice Department starts its review of the Uvalde law enforcement response

Posted on June 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see what they turn up. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday that the Department of Justice’s investigation into the law enforcement response to the elementary school shooting in Uvalde won’t be criminal in nature. Garland described the federal … Continue reading →

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If committees are all we’re going to get, then let’s get something from the committees

Posted on June 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Not too much to ask, I hope. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan on Friday announced the creation of a legislative committee to investigate the Uvalde shooting. “The fact we still do not have an accurate picture of what exactly happened … Continue reading →

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The entire law enforcement response in Uvalde is messed up

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What is going on here? The official response to the mass shooting at an Uvalde elementary school — a response already marred by shifting narratives, finger-pointing and a general lack of timely and accurate information — took a further turn … Continue reading →

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Justice Department to review what happened with Uvalde police

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Okay. The U.S. Department of Justice will review the law enforcement’s response to the Uvalde school massacre as local police face intense scrutiny for not acting quickly enough to confront the shooter. “The goal of the review is to provide … Continue reading →

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Please don’t ever talk to me about “a good guy with a gun” or “hardening the schools” again

Posted on May 28, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The police were there but did nothing. A gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at a South Texas elementary school walked unopposed onto school grounds, state law enforcement officials said Thursday — and once he was inside, it … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton finds a new thing to lie about

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This counts as personal growth for him. The state police made him do it. That’s the excuse Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton gives on his Texas ethics disclosures in place of revealing, as required by law, the addresses of properties … Continue reading →

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Treasury Department opens investigation into Abbott’s use of federal funds for border mission

Posted on May 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good, though I have a hard time believing there will be any real consequences. Gov. Greg Abbott’s use of COVID-19 relief dollars to support his border security mission has come under scrutiny in Washington this week as questions grow about … Continue reading →

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Federal lawsuit filed over Abbott’s border arrest fiasco

Posted on May 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Meant to post this last week. Three private defense attorneys, representing 15 migrant men arrested under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border operation, have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to end the governor’s policy of arresting migrants on criminal trespass charges, which … Continue reading →

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A roundup of border and lawsuit stories

Posted on April 30, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Too much news, not enough time… New federal lawsuit seeks to halt Texas’ border trespassing arrests, give more than $5 million to illegally detained migrants. In a new challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial border security crackdown, a lawsuit filed … Continue reading →

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Keeping the world safe from low tire pressure

Posted on April 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Such a visionary. State troopers ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott to inspect every commercial truck coming from Mexico earlier this month — which clogged international trade with Mexico — found zero drugs, weapons or any other type of contraband, according … Continue reading →

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Abbott ends his border hostage-taking

Posted on April 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I cannot get over how stupid and cynical this was, and yet it may be politically successful. Gov. Greg Abbott reached a fourth and final deal — this one with Tamaulipas’ governor on Friday — to end state troopers’ increased … Continue reading →

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Greg Abbott is still a threat to international trade

Posted on April 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is at best window dressing. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott relented Wednesday, agreeing to ease the additional safety inspections of trucks at the busiest border entry point near Laredo in exchange for promises of more border security by Mexican officials … Continue reading →

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Even Sid Miller thinks Abbott is being an idiot

Posted on April 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I mean… Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller called on Gov. Greg Abbott to halt his recent policy of additional commercial inspections at the border, calling the measure “political theater” and predicting it will leave grocery store shelves empty within weeks. … Continue reading →

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Greg Abbott is a threat to international trade

Posted on April 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We live in such strange times. Commercial traffic at a key South Texas border crossing has stopped after Mexican truckers on Monday blocked north- and southbound lanes on the Mexico side of the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge in protest of Texas … Continue reading →

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