Body worn camera video showing a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper used Signal to notify federal immigration authorities about an undocumented teenager last summer, prompted an agency-wide warning from a senior leader within DPS, email records show.
The 28-minute video from early May shows a quick hand-off: a trooper pulling over a high school senior who was on his way home from a night shift at an Austin fast food restaurant; the trooper sending federal immigration authorities a picture of the teen’s ID through encrypted messaging application Signal; U.S. Immigration and Customs officials responding “detain” in the Signal chat before showing up and taking the teen into custody.
Within five days of NBC Austin affiliate KXAN publishing the footage, DPS’ Deputy Director of Law Enforcement Operation sent chiefs an email saying, “it seems we are still experiencing issues with third-party messaging apps.”
Records show it was not the first time he raised concerns about apps, like Signal – that is known for allowing users to automatically delete messages, and issues properly preserving evidence, like conversations between law enforcement officials.
In an email to the DPS chiefs, Lt. Col. Jason Taylor explained body camera video showing a DPS commissioned officer using a third-party app, on his personal phone, to communicate with a federal agent opened the employee’s personal device to public information requests.
Taylor said officers should only utilize approved applications, and specifically, Bridge4PS as the primary messaging application. Taylor said the Bridge4PS platform was interoperable across multiple government agencies and “makes cutting and pasting discoverable (and open records) material easy from the app to a PDF.”
The Texas Department of Information Resources said it has a zero-dollar contract with the Houston-based company NP Strategies, LLC allowing multiple state agencies to use the Bridge4PS platform at a pre-negotiated price. DPS has not yet responded with how much it pays to use the technology under the state’s contract.
Lt. Col. Taylor also forwarded a 2024 email where he raised similar concerns with officers using third-party messaging apps, like WhatsApp and Signal, to group chat with other agencies during criminal investigations. The official warned that those messages must be submitted with the case file to prosecutors to comply with state law.
He wrote that many of the message threads involve multi-agency task forces or multi-agency operations – and that the agency was bound to submit the messages as evidence when applicable, even when others do not.
“If another agency submits these items as a part of their case packet and we fail to do so then it is pretty obvious we are not in compliance with statutory requirements,” Taylor said in the March 2024 email.
Texas DPS officials have not responded to emails and calls from KPRC 2’s ENOUGH team about the body camera video or the emails requesting officers stop using the messaging applications.
In September, the agency released to our team a redacted screenshot of the messages sent between the trooper, who was granted limited immigration authority as a 287(g) trained officer, and ICE agents on the night of the traffic stop.
The screenshot shows the conversation already able to be seen partially on body camera: the trooper sending a picture of what appears to be his Houston Independent School District student identification card, and a text saying, “18. Says he’s from Mexico,” Then the ICE agent responding with a picture of the teen’s information, including the unique federal identification number for immigrants, and the word “Detain.”
The screenshots also show part of another conversation where people whose names are redacted but identified with “ICE” next to message in the chat, texting “stand-by,” “release,” and “status check.” One of the photos that appears to come from the DPS trooper at 10:39 p.m. is also redacted.
Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas Board Member, and Houston trial lawyer, Tom Gregor said the preserved messages are somewhat promising and suggest some of the officers are abiding by the protocol the agency has put in place.
“The open question on that is whether all officers are doing the same thing,” Gregor said. “Really the ultimate question is what mechanisms are in place in the agency to make sure that these communications are being maintained because they are public record and it should not be simply trust, and hope that the officers and personnel are doing the preservation on their own.”
The teen in the video was released in time for graduation after his attorney quickly filed a habeas corpus petition seeking his release and U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, pushed for it.
