Uvalde police lieutenant under fire for Robb response retires

SAN ANTONIO — A senior member of the Uvalde Police Department has retired, metropolis officers say, two days after a damning CNN report confirmed he knew a number of Robb Elementary college students had been nonetheless alive and in want of rescue on May 24, when a gunman entered the varsity and finally killed 21. 

According to a metropolis spokesperson, Pargas was eligible to retire after serving town for 18 years. He was additionally not too long ago elected to the Uvalde County Commissioners Court as a consultant for Precinct 2, however was a no-show at Wednesday’s repeatedly scheduled assembly. 

He was additionally anticipated to be fired at a particular Saturday assembly which has now been cancelled. 

CNN not too long ago obtained audio of a telephone name that exhibits Pargas knew not less than eight victims had been nonetheless alive, however didn’t act. He referred to as Uvalde PD dispatchers to get extra information after they relayed a name over police radio from 10-year-old Khloie Torres. 

In it, Khloie tells dispatchers the room is filled with victims and begs for police to come back into the classroom.

The telephone name now exhibits, for the primary time, {that a} senior officer was made conscious of 911 calls from contained in the classroom. It took greater than half-hour after the telephone name earlier than the shooter was killed. 

During Wednesday’s commissioner’s court docket assembly, a number of dad and mom expressed their frustration to the court docket, though Pargas wasn’t there. He hasn’t attended a gathering because the taking pictures befell.

“I’m just talking to a chair,” Jesse Rizo, uncle of taking pictures sufferer Jackie Cazares  advised KENS 5 it was metaphoric.

“[It’s] an empty chair with an empty person. Even if he was there, he was probably empty,” Rizo stated its irritating after he realized in regards to the CNN report.

“For Khloie [Torres], when she saw that, she calls 911 for help and the message gets to [Pargas]…you sit there and you’re like, ‘how in the heck did this happen?’ So absolutely, it rips your heart one more time,” Rizo stated.

Mayor Don McLaughlin promised motion after the report’s launch, saying now-former Lt. Mariano Pargas would not be employed by town. Pargas was appearing police chief on the day of the taking pictures, and had been on go away since July.

“I think if we’d have had this, all this, and I think if we would have had your video and what we saw and everything we saw last night, I think Mariano would have been gone sooner, in my opinion,” McLaughlin beforehand stated.