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Residents tell Denton County court they faced obstruction and aggressive treatment when seeking records
Summary
Two residents told the Denton County Commissioners Court during public comment that county clerks and deputies refused or delayed public-records requests and acted aggressively when approached; the court advised callers to use the county's online open-records forms and said it complies with requests as allowed by law.
Two people used the public-comment period at the Denton County Commissioners Court meeting on March 18 to say they had been obstructed or treated aggressively while trying to obtain public records and discovery and while filming incidents involving deputies.
The comments came during the court’s allotted public-input time for items not on the agenda. A resident identified as Cody said he had been denied access to records requests and that deputies and clerks gave residents false instructions. “Whenever I asked them what the problem was, they refused to call,” Cody said, and later added that while filming a domestic dispute “a deputy shine[d] his flashlight directly into my face and begin shouting.” Cody also told the court he had filed complaints that included requests for body-camera footage but had not received a response “in over 10 business days.”
Christian Davis said county administrative practices were “disingenuous and hostile,” and described being told by clerks that discovery was not provided for traffic citations. Davis said he was not given a required notice within three days and did not receive discovery within 10 days as he expected, and said a clerk later had him removed under threat of arrest. “Is this how the local government treats its accused citizens?” Davis asked the court.
Judge (presiding) responded during the meeting by advising commenters to complete the county’s online open-records request forms and said the county routinely handles thousands of such requests each year. “If you’ll complete those, we’ll be happy to comply with any of your open records, of course, as allowed by law,” the judge said.
No formal action or vote followed the public comments. The court did not announce any immediate investigation or directive during the meeting; county staff and officials present encouraged the speakers to use formal written request channels.
The speakers did not cite a specific statute or administrative rule by name in the remarks reported to the court. The commenters alleged delays, inconsistent staff directions, and aggressive encounters with deputies; the court’s verbal response stressed use of the online requests and compliance “as allowed by law.”
