Emails from Jeff Davis County officials show the county provided body-camera video to an anonymous, look-alike website attacking Big Bend Times publisher David Flash, did so outside the Texas Public Information Act process, then denied the release and failed to maintain records documenting it.
The website, BigBendTimes.org, is not affiliated with the Big Bend Times but uses a nearly identical domain name. The site has published anonymous posts aimed at discrediting Flash and his reporting on county government. One post invokes the 2011 shooting death of Flash’s younger brother, using the family tragedy as part of the attack.
For weeks, county officials denied releasing the video outside the public information process. In an Aug. 11, 2025, email responding to Flash’s request for records, County Attorney Glen Eisen wrote that the only public information request received by the county during the relevant period—other than Flash’s own—was a June 29, 2025, request from Big Bend Sentinel editor Rob D’Amico. That request explicitly cited the Texas Public Information Act and sought body-camera footage and related records.
Eisen’s response did not identify any request from BigBendTimes.org and implied no other releases had occurred.
After repeated follow-up by Flash, Eisen later acknowledged that the county had, in fact, provided the video to the site. In a Sept. 2, 2025, email, Eisen wrote that during a live interview at the June 27, 2025, commissioners court meeting, County Judge Curtis Evans requested the video of an incident involving Flash and that, “with the consent of Sheriff Lopez, Judge Evans released this video to BigBendTimes.org.”
Eisen added that the footage was “identical to the one released to the Big Bend Sentinel and to you.”
The acknowledgment directly contradicted the county’s earlier position and confirmed that the video was supplied to the site without a documented public information request.
The Texas Public Information Act allows governmental bodies to voluntarily release public records, but it requires agencies to treat requestors consistently, to document how records are disclosed, and to maintain those records. The law is intended to prevent selective disclosure, favoritism and retaliation. It also prohibits discrimination based on the identity or viewpoint of a requestor. Willful concealment or mishandling of public records can carry criminal penalties under state law.
In an Aug. 8, 2025, email pressing county officials, Flash challenged the county’s assertion that no records exist documenting the release.
“You cannot release a public record multiple times and then claim there are no records of those releases,” Flash wrote. He noted that the video was released to him, to the Big Bend Sentinel through a formal request, and to a third party that published it online. Flash wrote that the county’s position reflected either “intentional dishonesty” or “a deliberate attempt to avoid the Texas Public Information Act.”
Flash also argued that providing the video directly to a domain-squatting website engaged in personal attacks—while denying the release when questioned—demonstrates malicious intent to harm a local publisher critical of county officials.
The site that received the video has published photographs of county officials, including Evans and Justice of the Peace Mary Ann Luedecke. One article includes a photograph of Luedecke next to a county-owned vehicle with a caption stating it was taken “with permission.” The site has also published detailed explanations of county equipment and operations that mirror internal government knowledge.
County officials have not disputed Eisen’s written acknowledgment that the video was provided to BigBendTimes.org. They have not explained why the release was initially denied, why no records documenting the disclosure were produced, or why the video was routed to an anonymous site engaged in personal attacks on a local journalist.
The dispute centers on whether Jeff Davis County officials intentionally bypassed public records safeguards, acted dishonestly when questioned, and used public resources in a manner that caused harm to a local news publisher—conduct the Texas Public Information Act is designed to prevent.
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