On May 26, 2026, I submitted a Texas Public Information Act request to the Colorado County Sheriff’s Office for its records concerning former CCSO Sergeant Tomas Allen Ramirez and the conduct that led to his prosecution under Penal Code § 39.04 (violation of the civil rights of a person in custody) and his deferred-adjudication community supervision.
CCSO released only its policies and remedial measures. It withheld the entire investigative file — incident reports, internal affairs, jail surveillance, witness statements, the TCOLE F-5, and its correspondence with the Texas Rangers — and asked the Attorney General to declare the records confidential under “victim privacy.”
There is one problem with that position: the Texas Department of Public Safety already released the same investigation to me, in redacted form, asserting no exception and seeking no ruling. The documents below lay out the records, the County’s attempt to suppress them, and my response to the Attorney General.
Texas Ranger Investigation (DPS, Redacted) #
The complete Texas Ranger criminal investigation — DPS Case 2024-0771627 — released by DPS through the ordinary public-information process. The victim is identified only by the pseudonym “KH” used by DPS; identifying information has been redacted to protect her under Tex. Code Crim. Proc. arts. 57 and 57A.
- DPS Initial Report & Charge/Arrest Form (redacted)
- DPS Supplements 1–9 (redacted)
- Full DPS investigation, combined (redacted)
A detailed breakdown of the investigation is in the companion post: DPS Investigation: Sexual Assault by CCSO Deputy Tomas Ramirez.
Colorado County Sheriff’s Office — PIA Responses #
How CCSO handled the same records DPS had already released:
- CCSO ten-day letter to me — June 9, 2026
- CCSO ten-day letter to the Attorney General — June 9, 2026
- CCSO fifteen-day letter and submission — June 17, 2026
CCSO asserted §§ 552.101, 552.107, 552.1175, 552.130, and 552.147 on June 9, then withdrew its § 552.107 (attorney-client) claim in the June 17 submission. Its remaining theory rests almost entirely on common-law privacy under § 552.101, borrowing a prior informal ruling (OR2026-014529) issued to a different requestor.
My Comment to the Attorney General #
My response under Tex. Gov’t Code § 552.304, urging release of the withheld records. The core argument: information a sister agency has already released to the public is in the public domain, and DPS’s redact-and-release proves the “inextricably intertwined” theory CCSO relies on is factually false.
Colorado County Clerk — PIA Response #
A separate May 26 request to the County Clerk for Commissioners Court records. The Clerk pointed to the county website for minutes and agendas, but returned “no responsive documents” for certified agendas/recordings of closed (executive) sessions and for any records of meeting cancellations or rescheduling.
These records document both the underlying institutional failure — staff sexual assault of a person in custody at the Colorado County Jail — and the County’s reflex to conceal the investigation even after the lead investigating agency had already made it public.