Dimmitt, TX asked in Criminal Law, Federal Crimes, White Collar Crime and Gov & Administrative Law for Texas

Q: Can I hold a code enforcement official accountable for making false accusations, criminal

Code enforcement made a false accusations and had our water turned off,his accusation was that there was a water source going into a RV that is used as storage,he went as far as to say that he had pictures, which he couldn't of had because there is no water going into or out since it was placed there, and when police arrived I told him of the crime that city official had just committed,he stated that official did nothing wrong, imidiatly I requested a supervisor he refused we asked name and badge # he refused,that's not very professional,and him taking sides and not taking action,when a crime had just committed is very serious

1 Lawyer Answer

A: The offense of TAMPERING WITH GOVERNMENTAL RECORD is defined in chapter 37 of the Penal Code which is available online here: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.37.htm#37.10

There might be a problem proving that it was intentional rather than accidental or negligent. Also, a private citizen can REPORT a criminal offense but you can't really file or prosecute a criminal case.

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