The Floresville Police Department released Matthew Luckhurst from his reserve officer status this week, said Mayor Cissy Gonzalez-Dippel. She said the city is also reviewing its hiring policies to prevent another embarrassing episode.
Law enforcement personnel are held to personal standards higher than other members of our communities. Conduct unbecoming has been a common and historical charge used in controlling and censuring police officers and other public employees, for both on and off duty actions.
The Texas Public Information Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies. Until the law was formalized, the ability of a citizen to gain access to public records was at the discretion of the custodian of the records, except in those cases where records custodians were forbidden to allow access. The law covers nearly all documents that are in the possession of government agencies in the state that are covered by the law. Section 552.002 says that information is public if it "is collected, assembled, or maintained under a law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business" by a governmental body or for a governmental body, and the governmental body owns the information or has a right of access to it.
Any person, not just citizens of Texas, can request public information. A statement of purpose is not required nor is there a law on how the records can be used. The Texas Public Information Act allows 10 days for a response to public record requests.
We the People have a Right to Know according to the Supreme Court of the United States [SCOTUS], past Presidents (of both major political parties), Congress, and the United States Department of Justice. As an expression of that Right to Know, we have coordinated valuable information from a number of resources into a single, public-facing, searchable database.
![Peace Officer Standards & Training [POST] Departments](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-07/Brady.png?itok=xsIFvU8R "Peace Officer Standards & Training [POST] Departments")
![Organizations [Law Enforcement et al.]](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2023-07/Brady%20%282%29.png?itok=H7Pj15F8 "Organizations [Law Enforcement et al.]")
