AUSTIN, Texas -- The state's largest police union is trying to stop an independent police watchdog in Austin.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of the Austin Police Association aims to cut off the Police Monitor's access until the labor union and Austin City Council approve a new labor contract.

The union voted 92-8 to let its contract lapse Dec. 29, 2017. Contract negotiations are set to resume Wednesday, but one day after the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, or CLEAT, filed a lawsuit against the City of Austin, City Manager Spencer Cronk and formerly Interim City Manager Elaine Hart on behalf of the Austin Police Association.

Union leaders said the Office of the Police Monitor should have no access to investigations, especially those that opened after the police labor contract ended.

"A very unfair situation where the city's intended to violate state law," said CLEAT Executive Director Charley Wilkison.

CLEAT attorneys said in a news conference Tuesday state law prohibits outside watchdog groups like the Police Monitor from accessing personnel files. Instead, they say those files must remain within the confines of Austin Police Department's Internal Affairs Division.

"We believe the city's unilateral action will violate state laws meant to protect civil servants from unwarranted invasions of their personal privacy," attorney Houston Tower said.

Spectrum News asked at the city's first officer-involved shooting of 2018, back on Jan. 26, if the Police Monitor was allowed access to the scene. While APD officials confirmed the office's access, they did not elaborate how that was legally possible. Austin is the only city in Texas with an Office of the Police Monitor, which was created under the now expired labor contract.

"We are aware of the lawsuit and we stand ready to defend the City," a spokesperson for the City of Austin said in a statement Tuesday. "Our position on the Office of the Police Monitor has been consistent and we continue to strive to uphold the accountability of police actions to maintain and improve relations between law enforcement and the community. We will continue to operate within the law and the Office of the Police Monitor will continue to carry out its important work. We also look forward to returning to the bargaining table with the Austin Police Association tomorrow."

"The city has taken preemptive action and let us know earlier in the week that they would be monitoring 2018 cases--giving the police monitor unfettered access--which we believe is a violation of state law," said APA President Ken Casaday.

The lawsuit seeks an injunction by a district court judge, which could prevent the Police Monitor from investigating this year's officer-involved shootings. So far, there have been two. Earlier this year, the City Manager suspended another watchdog group, the Citizen Review Panel, because of the contract lapsing.

Negotiations between the union and city resume Wednesday for the first time since Austin City Council rejected the proposed labor contract in mid-December. That vote included an extension of the previous police contract through March, which would have allowed the independent police oversight provisions to remain unaffected. However, the police union's vote nullified that option.