AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion yesterday stating that he and his team “cannot conclude that there is an absolute duty for an officer to intervene” to prevent another officer from violating the rights of a citizen.
The request was submitted by state Rep. James White, in which he writes: “If we cannot expect executive branch government officials to intervene when other executive branch government officials are violating the constitutional rights of citizens why even have a constitution?
“Therefore, let’s just frankly admit that we are a society of governed by the whims of men (that is, chaos) and not a society governed by laws (order).”
Paxton’s opinion states that the Code of Criminal Procedure makes it the duty of every peace officer to preserve the peace within their jurisdiction, and that the Penal Code makes it a criminal offense makes it a criminal offense for a public servant to deny “another in the exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power, or immunity, knowing his conduct is unlawful.”
However, the opinion further states that White did not cite any judicial opinions in which a court applied the code to seek criminal or civil redress against a peace officer for failure to intervene.
“Thus, we cannot conclude that there is an absolute duty for an officer to intervene under the circumstances you describe.”
Opinion KP-0343