AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – The Uvalde Police Chief who was on leave after the Robb Elementary School shooting comes less than a week after a report was released defending the department’s response to the city-ordered attack. , submitted his resignation on Tuesday, infuriating some police chiefs. Those killed were 19 children and two teachers.
On May 24, 2022, Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez was on vacation in Arizona when a teenage gunman entered a Uvalde fourth-grade classroom with an AR-style rifle. did. Department spokesman Fernando Fernandez said the chief told officers about the decision: It was best for his family to resign.
The resignation is effective April 6th.
“The City of Uvalde appreciates Chief Rodriguez’s 26 years of service to the community and wishes him the best of luck as he pursues new career opportunities,” Mayor Cody Smith said in a statement.
The announcement came hours before a scheduled Uvalde City Council meeting, the first since a private investigator hired by the city released a report that found police at fault but concluded that local police officers did not deserve punishment. It was conducted. About 400 law enforcement officers at the scene of the attack, including Uvalde police, waited more than an hour after the shooting began to confront the gunman.
A critical incident report released by the Department of Justice in January revealed “cascading failures” in law enforcement’s response to the massacre. The report specifically mentioned Uvalde police Lt. Mariano Pargas, who served as acting police chief that day in Rodriguez’s absence.
Parents and families of the 19 children and two teachers killed in the shooting, as well as survivors and their relatives, disagree with the findings.
During a public comment period at a City Council meeting in Uvalde last week, several speakers questioned why Rodriguez would allow officers to remain on the force after waiting so long for action.
