Note: Included opinions are from November 11, 2020 through December 10, 2020.
KP-0343 (Peace Officers): Article 2.13(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure makes it “the duty of every peace officer to preserve the peace within the officer’s jurisdiction.” Section 39.03 of the Penal Code makes it a criminal offense for a public servant to deny or impede “another in the exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power, or immunity, knowing his conduct is unlawful.” The requestor does not cite to any judicial opinion, and the attorney general finds none, in which a court applied Code of Criminal Procedure Article 2.13 or Penal Code Section 39.03 to seek civil or criminal redress against a peace officer for failure to intervene. Thus, the attorney general cannot conclude that there is an absolute duty for an officer to intervene under the circumstances described in the request.