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Temple resident urges release of body-worn camera footage in Billy Gordon case
Summary
A Temple resident publicly urged the city to release police body-worn camera footage related to the killing of Billy Gordon, saying repeated public-records requests have been blocked and expressing concern about police response to mental-health crises.
Adam Pires, a Temple resident and disabled veteran, used the council's public-comment period to ask the city to release body-worn camera footage related to the killing of Billy Gordon by Temple police nearly a year earlier.
"Where's the body cam footage? We haven't seen the body cam footage, and I've looked through the records request. Several people have requested that body cam footage, and it just keeps getting blocked," Pires said. He acknowledged an ongoing investigation but said "at this point, the Texas Rangers should be done with their investigation" and pressed for transparency.
Pires described himself as a disabled veteran and said he fears for other residents who experience mental-health episodes. "What if I had some kind of a PTSD episode and my neighbor calls? Do I have to worry that the Temple police are gonna come and murder me because I'm having a mental health episode?" he asked.
Pires urged the council to "release the body cam" and to stop denying public-records requests. The council did not take any formal action during the public-comment period. No city response or staff update on the footage was recorded in the public remarks captured in the transcript excerpt.
Provenance: remarks recorded during public comment starting at transcript time 479.37 and concluding at 564.47.
