As Fort Worth fights to keep its police chase policy secret, other cities share theirs online
Of the 10 largest cities in Texas, Fort Worth is the only one that doesn’t publicize its police vehicle pursuit policy.
Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, El Paso and Plano post their policies online. Lubbock and Corpus Christi’s policies are available through public information requests.
Arlington posts annual reports of police vehicle chases, including records of policy violations and the repercussions for the offending police officer. The Star-Telegram has submitted a public records request for a copy of its official policy.
Fort Worth has an informational copy of its general orders online, however several sections are left out, including the vehicle pursuit policy.
After police chase deaths in June and July, several North Texas media organizations, including the Star-Telegram, filed public records requests for the city of Fort Worth’s policy.
The city cited the Texas Homeland Security Act to block release of the policy, arguing its release would put the public in danger. The city sought an opinion from the Attorney General’s Office to get legal backing for its stance, but was told to release the documents.
The city is now suing the attorney general to keep the records private.
“This policy includes more detailed, sensitive information in it that other cities’ policies do not include, and it would be detrimental to publicly release this information,” a police spokesperson said in an email to the Star-Telegram.
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