Tag Archives: Department of Public Safety
The High Cost of Hays County’s Decision to Keep Prosecuting Low-Level Marijuana Cases
Opinion: A new law legalizing hemp prompted prosecutors across the state to drop some low-level marijuana cases. But the district attorney in Hays County won’t be deterred.
Last month, Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1325 into law, legalizing the production and sale of hemp with less than .3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, or ...Read More
Four Years Later, Sandra Bland’s Arrest Continues to Sow Distrust in Law Enforcement
New reporting shows that Sandra Bland recorded her infamous 2015 arrest. Authorities never told her grieving family.
After Sandra Bland’s death in the Waller County jail became a national scandal, former Texas Department of Public Safety trooper Brian Encinia struggled to ju...Read More
Texas House Advances Bill that Could Actually Clear the Rape Kit Backlog
Lawmakers have been using Band-Aids to address the backlog of untested rape kits since 2011. This session could bring a real fix.
State lawmakers have been talking about fixing the rape kit backlog since 2011, when former state Senator Wendy Davis passed legislation requiring an audit that...Read More
Six Stories About Rural Texas You Should Read Before 2018 Ends
From the shuttering of Dairy Queens, driver's license offices and rural hospitals across the state to an only-in-Texas alligator tale, you may have missed this great reporting.
I understand if the wild and weird news cycle of 2018 has got your head spinning. This rollercoaster ride of state and national politics has some reporters near...Read More
Sandra Bland Act Passes Senate Unanimously After Key Provisions Dropped
“I would’ve preferred a more robust bill, but I’m happy — I’m elated — that there is a bill,” said author Garnet Coleman, D-Houston.
The version of the Sandra Bland Act that unanimously passed the Texas Senate Thursday afternoon isn’t the uncompromising criminal justice overhaul it was once...Read More
Dashcam Video: In Rush to Help Deport Immigrants, Texas State Troopers May Be Trampling the Constitution
Legal experts, pointing to a series of Supreme Court rulings, say a DPS trooper may have violated the Fourth Amendment.
Legal experts, pointing to a series of Supreme Court rulings, say a DPS trooper may have violated the Fourth Amendment....Read More
How Texas State Troopers Turn Routine Traffic Stops into Deportations
The Conejo brothers were construction workers in Austin with clean criminal records when a broken tail light and a patrolman’s decision landed them back in Mexico.
The Conejo brothers were construction workers in Austin with clean criminal records when a broken tail light and a patrolman’s decision landed them back in Me...Read More
Senator Rodríguez Demands Answers on Flood-Related Oil Spills
In a letter sent to three state agencies on Wednesday, El Paso State Senator José Rodríguez demanded an explanation for the “apparent lack of response” to...Read More
