Topline
The Uvalde School Board unanimously voted Wednesday night to fire District Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who was widely condemned for leading the police’s slow response during the Robb Elementary School massacre.
on this May 26, 2022, photo , Uvald School Police Chief Pete Arredondo, third from left, standing … [+] at a news conference outside Rob Elementary School in Uwald, Texas. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, File)
KEY FACTS
Arredondo was placed on administrative leave on June 22, a day after the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety said his response to the shooting was ” A serious failure”.
Three after Arredondo oversaw law enforcement response to May 24 shooting The shooting took place in November, killing 19 children and two teachers.
He was the first cop to be fired for responding.
Arredondo’s lawyers released a statement ahead of Wednesday’s hearing that fired him It would be an “illegal and unconstitutional public lynching” requiring his reinstatement and his wages.
Key Background
It took more than an hour for law enforcement to kill the gunman who carried out the massacre as he hid in an adjoining classroom, and students desperately called 911 and begged the police. An investigation into the response is still ongoing, but details disclosed so far indicate widespread confusion among responders. Arredondo defended his role in the response in an interview with the Texas Tribune, saying he didn’t know he was in command and said it was difficult for police to find the correct key to the classroom where the shooter was. An investigative report released last month by a Texas House committee determined that Arredondo’s police force accounted for only five of the 376 law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting. The largest response force is a group of 149 Border Patrol agents, the report said, noting that many “trained and well-equipped” officers from state and federal agencies could have stepped up command that would “help resolve the issue.” The chaos that is spreading.”
Tangent
Arredondo resigned from a separate, elected Uvalde city council seat in July, doing so To “minimize further disruption.”
Further reading
Uwald shooting: none of this is true (Forbes)
Uvald School Police Chief Arredondo on leave (Forbes)
Waiting for keys, unable to break doors: Uvald School Police chief defends delay in confrontation with gunman (Texas Tribune)
