Pasadena resident tells council city withheld Attorney General ruling; asks for internal probe

Eric Sanchez, a Pasadena resident, told the City of Pasadena City Council on Feb. 18 that the city delayed or withheld records he requested about a police investigation and that the Texas Attorney General had largely ruled in his favor.

Sanchez said he submitted public records requests beginning in June–July 2024 and encountered “delays, evasiveness, and what appears to be obstruction,” including partial redactions and withheld materials. He said the city later amended his request and sought reconsideration that could delay production by up to 45 days; Sanchez asserted that step conflicted with the Texas Government Code process as he described it.

The complaint, made during the council’s public-comment period, included allegations that materials withheld related to an individual identified in police records as Edwin Kent and to possible perjury and fabricated evidence in a separate criminal matter. Sanchez said he has prepared a public-corruption complaint and plans to submit it to the district attorney’s public integrity unit if the city does not investigate internally.

Why it matters: public-records access and timely disclosure are central to government accountability and to the ability of people to pursue remedies through courts or the Attorney General. Sanchez told the council he had taken his request to the Attorney General and said he learned the AG had “ruled largely in my favor,” but that the city had not informed him of that outcome.

Sanchez described a sequence in which the city’s legal staff, he said, initially denied the existence of certain audio/video evidence, then later acknowledged the materials existed while seeking extended time to reconsider releasing them. “If you choose not to act, I will assume you are complicit,” Sanchez said during his remarks.

Sanchez named city employees and officials in his prepared remarks and said he had documentation he intended to use in a complaint to the district attorney. The council did not take action on his request during the meeting; the item remained a public comment asking the council to direct staff to investigate.

Clarifying details from the comment: Sanchez said his requests began in June–July 2024, that he filed a public-records request on July 2, 2024, and that the Attorney General later issued a ruling he described as largely in his favor. He said the city then sought reconsideration that would permit an additional 45 days for production. Sanchez said he planned to submit a public-corruption complaint identifying specific city personnel and police officers.

No formal council motion or vote related to Sanchez’s allegations was recorded during the meeting.

Ending: Sanchez concluded his public comment by asking the council to investigate internally; if it did not, he said he would pursue the district attorney’s public-integrity unit. The council did not announce any immediate follow-up during the meeting.