Reporters' Anecdotes

Reprinted with permission from The Monitor.

Editor’s Note: Here are accounts of what some of the reporters experienced in their attempt to acquire public information at entities throughout the Rio Grande Valley during the six-week investigation. Valley Freedom Newspapers sent 28 reporters to gather public records from almost every entity in Hidalgo, Starr, Cameron and Willacy counties. The reporters went as private citizens to measure local compliance. The newspapers published the results in a three-day multi-story package Thanksgiving weekend. View the full FOI package at www.themonitor.com.

• SANTA ROSA CITY HALL/PD: On Oct. 7 at about 1:30 p.m., I tried to obtain the records. Santa Rosa City Manager Javier Mendez asked several questions, including my name, the reason for the records requested, and the place where I work. After I said that the law doesn’t require that information to be shared in order to receive public information, Mendez said, “Well, you’re going to have to bring in a letter in order to get that information.” I left City Hall and I drove several blocks, made several turns, and parked in the parking lot of a local church, where I filled out forms. When I drove away a few minutes later, I noticed a police unit behind my car. The police unit followed my car down Farm-to-Market Road 506, and later as I turned onto Highway 107 toward Combes. Heading toward Primera, I turned south onto Stuart Place Road. I also noticed that the Santa Rosa police cruiser now 20 minutes and several miles outside of its jurisdiction also turned south onto Stuart Place Road, continuing to follow my car. The patrol car continued driving behind my car as I drove into Primera. After I stopped at a four-way intersection in the middle of Primera, I turned east and pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store on the comer. The cruiser also turned east at the intersection and drove on.

— Juan Ozuna/The Monitor

• PORT ISABEL CITY HALL: Wednesday, Oct. 8, I went into the Port Isabel City Hall to request the city managers expense report and City Commission meeting minutes. Upon being let into a side office area, I told an employee what records I wanted. She brought City Secretary Nancy A. Davalos to me. Davalos said that I had to file a records request for the expense reports, and I provided the one I prepared in advance. Davalos said the mayor does not have a cell phone, or many of the things I had requested. I pointed out that the request said that the city manager was included in this request. Davalos said that was fine, but was not sure when the records would become available. She wanted my phone number. I said that the law did not require that I leave a phone number, so I would not provide it. I said I would return in 10 days, when the documents were prepared, according to the law. Davalos said that she had 10 days to determine if she would release the documents I requested. I disputed the point and she appeared to become upset, again demanding my phone number. Again, I refused. Davalos walked away, saying “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” as I tried to speak with her. She returned to her office, partially closing the door when I asked for her name. She came out of her office and handed me a business card. She then walked away, ignoring questions I was trying to ask her.

— Ryan Gabrielson/The Monitor

• CAMERON COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT: I went to the Cameron County Detention Center in Olmito at about noon on Monday, Oct. 27. I was told that I had to speak to a captain, but he was out to lunch.

Later in Brownsville, I went to another Cameron County Detention Center. There I asked the receptionist if I could see the jail log. The receptionist told me that it is not public information. I told her that the records are public in all counties in Texas, but she said that I needed to speak with the lieutenant. She called him and told him in Spanish to come out front because there was a girl saying the logs were public record.

The lieutenant asked me what I wanted to see and

why. I said it was public record and that any citizen is entitled to see the record. He asked if I wanted information about a specific name because he could give me some information. I said I just wanted to see the log.

Then he proceeded to ask, “Where do you live? What do you want with this information? What’s your address?” I said, “Sir, that is not public information.” At that point he told me that I would have to speak with the captain at headquarters on Old Alice Road in Olmito.

When I entered the building and asked for the captain, the receptionist replied, “I’ve been told about you.” The captain was not in, but two officers told me that I couldn’t see the log and this was the first time they’d ever heard of a request to see it.

I asked again to see the lieutenant or captain. One of the officers said, “Lt. Trevino would love to deal with this.” The other officer asked me what I wanted to do with the record and again I said, “It’s public record.”

In the end, I was unable to see the jail log.

— Victoria Hirschberg/The Monitor

• EDINBURG PD: Officials at the Edinburg Police Department said they are seeking an attorney general’s opinion before they would agree to produce copies of police reports that I requested as public record under the Open Records Act. I requested copies of the reports on Oct. 6.

— Brittney Booth/The Brownsville Herald

• PHARR CITY HALL/PD: On Oct. 6, at Pharr City Hall, I was referred to the city’s law firm in order to receive a copy of the city managers expense report. City officials contacted me 14 days later to pick up the expense report at the office of the city’s legal adviser, Gustavo Acevedo. I paid $66.42 for a copy of the approximately 30-page document.

An itemized invoice received on Nov. 13 shows that the copies cost $2.50, 25 pages at 10 cents per page. The additional charge of $63.92 was listed as a charge for two hours of staff work from the Vasquez Law Firm in Pharr.

At the Pharr Police Department, records clerk Carol Ortega told me that the police report copy that I had requested was not public record. I quoted the state law that said the report was, in fact, public record. Ortega then had me fill out a Freedom of Information request form, then gave me the document.

— Brittney Booth/The Brownsville Herald

• DONNA PD: Officials at the Donna Police Department told me on Oct. 7 that they were too busy to accommodate my request to look at police reports.

Keturah Deaton, the departments records custodian, asked, “Why do you want to look at them anyway?”

Deaton then summoned Lt. Pete Guerrero to deal

with my request.

“You aren’t going to see them, I’m all tied up. I’m too busy,” he said. “First, you would have to get something in writing and then maybe we’ll see.”

Guerrero also denied my request to see the city’s jail log.

— J. Noel Espinoza/The Brownsville Herald

• WESLACO PD: At the Weslaco Police Department, my request to look at police reports was received suspiciously and with a response that the reports were not available to the public. “You have to go through our public information officer at City Hall,” said Sandra Cantu, an employee at the police department.

— J. Noel Espinoza/The Brownsville Herald

• PROGRESO PD: At the Progreso Police Department on Oct. 6, Sgt. Luz Davila was reluctant to allow me to see the department’s crime log book. He refused several requests to look at it, offering instead to read the information to me. “It shouldn’t matter if you look or I tell you,” Davila said. “There’s a communication breakdown. You’re not telling me why you need it.”

After reading several passages from the log book, the dialogue continued. “We’d like to know the reason for the game,” Davila said.

“It’s not a game. It’s the law,” I said.

To which Davila responded, “We’re not going to give the information to a serial killer.”

— Alison Beshur/The Brownsville Herald

• HIDALGO COUNTY: I received a copy of the latest Commissioners Court meeting minutes, and the county mailed a copy of Judge Ramon Garcia’s expenses two days after my visit.

— Kevin Garcia/The Brownsville Herald

• SOUTH TEXAS ISD: The school district faxed a copy of the superintendent’s contract to Herald attorney Brian Janis on Oct. 15 seven days after the initial contact. I never identified myself as a reporter. I don’t know how they might have learned this.

(FREEDOM NEWSPAPER EDITOR’S NOTE: According to Kevin’s documents, the school district’s attorney found out about the project and wanted to make sure there were no “misunderstandings.” Andi Atkinson, public relations director at the South Texas Independent School District, recognized the reporter. She used to work at Rio Grande State Center, and he once did a story on one of the doctors.)

— Kevin Garcia/The Brownsville Herald

• DONNA ISD: I was denied copies of the Donna Independent School District board minutes when I requested them on Oct. 8 because I was told they were not available.  Minutes for the previous meeting had not been signed, and were also not available.  However, my request was later filled within the 10 days specified by the Freedom of

Information Act.

— Criselda Valdez/The Brownsville Herald

• ELSA PD: The Elsa Police Department charged me a $30 “administrative fee” to see six police reports. No copies were made.

When I made the request on Oct. 8, an unidentified employee told me that the first page of the offense reports contained a lot of narrative information about each incident and that the reports would not be available to me unless I had a court order.

I paid $5 to examine each of the six reports that were made available, but they turned out to be dispatcher log sheets and not actual police reports.

A supervisory officer identified only as Zavala said, “It’s an administrative fee.”

— Emma Perez-Trevino/The Brownsville Herald

• VALLEY VIEW ISD: The Valley View Independent School District filled our request on Oct. 8 for a copy of the superintendent’s contract, but it did not include salary information.

— David Robledo/The Brownsville Herald