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Are police union texts public record? Here’s what a judge said and what comes next

By Edited by Mike Garbett and produced with AI assistance
A federal judge denied the City of Pembroke Pines’ motion to disclose year-old text messages between two police union members.
A federal judge denied the City of Pembroke Pines’ motion to disclose year-old text messages between two police union members. Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com

A federal judge again sided with the Pembroke Pines police union in the city’s ongoing legal battle to obtain text messages between two officers.

The dispute centers on whether private texts about the union’s bargaining agreement qualify as public record.

FULL STORY: Pembroke Pines rebuffed again in fight over police union texts. Here’s the latest

A federal judge denied the City of Pembroke Pines’ motion to disclose year-old text messages between two police union members.
A federal judge denied the City of Pembroke Pines’ motion to disclose year-old text messages between two police union members.

Here are key takeaways:

  • Judge Panayotta Augustin-Birch struck down the city’s motion seeking to compel disclosure of texts between union president Scott Kushi and officer Joel Cuarezma, ruling that revealing the messages would “in effect moot this case.”
  • The dispute traces back to a June 2025 email from Cuarezma soliciting shift-swap volunteers, which Kushi warned could violate the Fraternal Order of Police’s collective bargaining agreement.
  • Cuarezma declined to share the texts with Captain Adam Feiner and soon became the subject of an internal investigation by Internal Affairs.
  • A March order from federal judge Ed Artau called the city’s records request “invalid and unenforceable” because it was executed by a Pembroke Pines employee on the city’s behalf.
  • FOP attorney Paul Daragjati said the union is pursuing permanent injunctive relief, with a jury trial scheduled in West Palm Beach in August.

This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence and using our own originally reported, written and published content. It was reviewed and edited by our journalists.

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