The latest Department of Public Safety news from The Texas Tribune.
A Chinese crime operation bypassed the password clues of Texas.gov by using stolen identity information to fraudulently obtain replacement driver’s licenses. Full Story
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Most of the state’s 19 mass shootings over the past six decades were carried out by men who legally possessed firearms, an investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found. Full Story
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The Texas Department of Public Safety is instead asking lawmakers for $381.5 million to upgrade its current facilities with better technology, dormitories and cafeteria for trainees from across the state. Full Story
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The Department of Public Safety has finished its investigation into how officers responded to Texas’ deadliest school shooting. The agency has fired one officer and is in the process of firing another. Full Story
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After the Texas Department of Public Safety suspended Texas Ranger Christopher Ryan Kindell, one of hundreds of officers who responded to the May 24 mass shooting, felony cases he investigated are in jeopardy and experts have questioned the justification for his suspension. Full Story
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Previously unreleased video, audio and interviews show for the first time how the medical response faltered after police finally confronted the Robb Elementary shooter. Full Story
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DPS is asking lawmakers to approve a $467 million active-shooter facility as a “down payment” for the training academy. “You play like you practice,” Director Steve McCraw said. Full Story
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Audio obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica shows just how long police and dispatchers likely knew that children and teachers were in danger before taking action at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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At a public meeting where families that lost children in the school shooting said he should resign, McCraw said members of the Department of Public Safety made mistakes. But he said he’ll step down only “if DPS as an institution failed the families.” Full Story
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Department of Public Safety Sgt. Juan Maldonado is the first state police officer fired in the aftermath of a botched police response to the shooting. He was the highest-ranking state trooper to initially respond to Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott said the school district knew the ex-trooper “had actions inconsistent with training and department requirements.” Full Story
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A court had ruled that the state’s ban was unconstitutional. The attorney general’s office — usually a supporter of gun rights — said it will appeal but didn’t explain why. Full Story
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The state’s top law enforcement agency also told USA Today that seven officers have now been referred to its internal affairs division, including two who are command staff. Full Story
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The state’s top law enforcement agency has publicly criticized the actions of local police during the May shooting at Robb Elementary. But McCraw’s agency has also faced scrutiny for officers’ delay in confronting the gunman. Full Story
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State troopers outnumbered local law enforcement 2-to-1 outside Robb Elementary, but the Department of Public Safety has blocked the release of records and carefully shaped the narrative to cast local authorities as incompetent. Full Story
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Hundreds of law enforcement officers from several local, state and federal agencies have been heavily criticized for the delayed response in confronting the gunman during the worst school shooting in Texas history. Full Story
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Uvalde trustees are unsure if officers who will provide school security this year were part of the delayed response to the shooting at Robb Elementary. Full Story
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The lawsuit alleges that the state police have unlawfully withheld records, including body camera footage and emergency communications, during the Robb Elementary shooting. Full Story
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Two civil rights groups have expanded their request for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Operation Lone Star, citing evidence of risky pursuits and more frequent traffic stops of Hispanic drivers. Full Story
The department’s officers made up nearly one-fourth of the 376 law enforcement members who responded to Texas’ deadliest school shooting. Announcement of the inquiry came one day after a report criticized police response to the massacre. Full Story
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