WANT TO SEE THE BPD INMATE LIST? BY INVITATION ONLY

 

(Ed.'s Note: Have you been "invited" to see the Brownsville Police Dept. inmate list? After hearing the claims by the city's PIO that the city is at the forefront of transparency and accountability, the site prevents anyone from accessing it unless they have been invited. The site asks the reader to contact the blog author and "request an invitation." 

Since when do we allow a "blog author" or simply a city bureaucrat to determine who can have access to public information? If this is any measure of the new transparency culture over at the city, we're taking a step back on that claim.

The city site on public information states that: "The Texas Public Information Act (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552), gives you the right to access government records. All government information is presumed to be available to the public, although certain exceptions may apply. Governmental bodies shall release requested information as promptly as possible, unless the information is exempt from disclosure under the Public Information Act."

Will it be left up to a "blog author" – or Chief Felix Sauceda, city manager Noel Bernal, or PIO Felipe "Fito" Romero – to "invite" media and individuals to see which persons were arrested by the Brownsville P.D. and for what alleged violation? 

Romero was hired as a Communications and Marketing Director by City Manager Noel Bernal in 2019. So far, his accomplishments have been minimal and are basically limited to the city's BTV, a little used medium. He previously served as Contract Relations Coordinator for the Austin Independent School District and promised to "serve the Brownsville community and highlight the great things happening at the city on a local and international stage."

So why this added layer of concealment? See for yourself by clicking on link:

https://www.blogger.com/blogin.g?blogspotURL=http://brownsvillepd.blogspot.com/&type=blog )