Uvalde schools police Chief Pete Arredondo fired over shooting response

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UVALDE — The Uvalde college board agreed Wednesday to fireplace Pete Arredondo, the college district police chief broadly criticized for his response to the deadliest college shooting in Texas historical past, in a vote that got here shortly after he requested to be taken off of suspension and obtain backpay.

Arredondo, broadly blamed for regulation enforcement’s delayed response in confronting the gunman who killed 21 folks at Robb Elementary, made the request for reinstatement by way of his lawyer, George E. Hyde. The assembly got here precisely three months after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers on the college.

“Chief Arredondo will not participate in his own illegal and unconstitutional public lynching and respectfully requests the Board immediately reinstate him, with all backpay and benefits and close the complaint as unfounded,” Hyde said in a statement.

Arredondo didn’t attend the assembly, citing dying threats made in opposition to him.

But about 100 folks, together with relations of the shooting victims, confirmed up for the vote. Many chanted “coward” and “no justice, no peace.” Four folks spoke throughout a public remark interval earlier than the seven-member board went into closed session to deliberate Arredondo’s employment, criticizing the choice to not talk about the matter in entrance of the general public.

“I hope they do right by us,” Brett Cross, whose son Uziyah Garcia was killed within the bloodbath, informed different attendees as trustees met behind closed doorways.

For months, college officers confronted intense public strain to fireplace Arredondo, who was one of many first regulation enforcement officers to answer the shooting at Robb Elementary on May 24. Nearly 400 local, state and federal law enforcement officers waited greater than an hour to confront the 18-year-old gunman after he entered the college.

Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Hal Harrell really helpful that Arredondo be fired “for good cause.” Hyde requested college officers to learn a press release on Arredondo’s behalf on the assembly. They didn’t adjust to the request.

As board members started discussing Arredondo, Felicha Lopez, whose son Xavier James Lopez was killed within the bloodbath, informed folks attending the assembly that the college board wanted to “protect our kids” as she wiped tears from her face.

A Texas House committee report launched in July mentioned the responding officers lacked clear management, primary communications and ample urgency to extra rapidly confront the gunman, who was shot and killed after a U.S. Border Patrol tactical workforce entered the classroom the place many of the victims had been shot.

In his assertion Wednesday, Arredondo’s lawyer mentioned that the college district violated his constitutional due course of rights by failing to offer him discover of the complaints in opposition to him and conduct an investigation of his response to the mass shooting forward of the termination listening to.

Arredondo’s lawyer mentioned that he acquired an electronic mail from the district on July 19, recommending his termination primarily based on his failure to ascertain himself because the incident commander in the course of the shooting, however argued the letter ought to have been despatched earlier and in a bodily format.

Arredondo was listed within the district’s active-shooter plan because the commanding officer, however the consensus of these interviewed by the House committee was that Arredondo didn’t assume that position and nobody else took over for him, which resulted in a chaotic regulation enforcement response.

In a June 9 interview with The Texas Tribune, Arredondo mentioned he didn’t suppose he was the incident commander on the scene. He mentioned he by no means gave any order, as an alternative solely referred to as for help. Arredondo didn’t have his police radio whereas he was inside Robb Elementary as a result of he needed each of his arms free to interact the shooter, he mentioned.

Arredondo testified to the House committee that he believed the shooter was a “barricaded subject” as an alternative of an “active shooter” after seeing an empty classroom subsequent to the one the place the shooter was hiding.

“With the benefit of hindsight, we now know this was a terrible, tragic mistake,” the House report said.

Training for active-shooter eventualities directs regulation enforcement responders to prioritize the lives of harmless victims over these of officers. For a barricaded suspect, officers should not suggested to hurry in.

The report criticized Arredondo’s concentrate on looking for a key to open the door to the room the shooter was in, which “consumed his attention and wasted precious time, delaying the breach of the classrooms.” The report mentioned the classroom door didn’t lock correctly and certain wasn’t locked as police waited to confront the shooter.

Hyde, Arredondo’s lawyer, asserted that his shopper mustn’t have been assigned because the incident commander. He argued the Uvalde County sheriff ought to have been in command of the incident provided that this workplace was the one regulation enforcement company that knew the gunman had shot his grandmother previous to touring to Robb Elementary.

Vicente Salazar, whose granddaughter Layla Salazar was killed within the assault, informed different assembly attendees Wednesday that, along with Arredondo, the Uvalde County sheriff also needs to be fired. He inspired residents to be extra civically engaged.

“We need to take Uvalde back for our people,” he mentioned.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat whose district contains Uvalde, additionally attended the assembly.

“It’s 90 days too long to do the right thing,” he mentioned earlier than the college board’s vote.

Gutierrez mentioned different regulation enforcement businesses additionally failed of their response and urged residents to maintain pushing for accountability.

“I encourage you to keep fighting,” Gutierrez mentioned.

In the Wednesday letter to trustees, Arredondo’s authorized workforce additionally directed blame again on the college district for allegedly not taking the police chief’s safety recommendation.

“If the school district would have prioritized Chief Arredondo’s request over a year prior to the incident, for key-card locks, better fencing, better training, and more equipment, [it] could have been different,” the letter mentioned.

The Texas House committee’s report investigating the shooting additionally cited the college’s lack of preparedness for an armed intruder. School board members didn’t discuss their determination and rapidly adjourned the assembly after their vote to terminate Arredondo.

Arredondo was elected to the Uvalde City Council just a few weeks earlier than the shooting however wasn’t sworn in till after the bloodbath. After lacking a number of conferences, Arredondo stepped down from his District 3 seat to “minimize further distractions,” he mentioned.

Jesse Rizo, whose niece Jackie Cazares was killed within the shooting, mentioned Arredondo’s termination would assist folks start therapeutic. But he additionally mentioned that different regulation enforcement officers and businesses needs to be held accountable.

Rizo additionally expressed shock that Arredondo requested to be reinstated from suspension with backpay.

“The audacity,” he mentioned. “Who would come up with that? You didn’t have a car wreck into a stop sign. You had a loss of life. Twenty-one of them.”

Zach Despart contributed to this story.

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