A former school district police chief who oversaw the response to the May 24, 2022, mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, has been indicted on 10 counts of child endangerment.
An 18-year-old gunman entered Robb Elementary School, killing 19 students and two teachers in adjacent rooms 111 and 112. It took U.S. Border Patrol to neutralize the gunman 77 minutes after police arrived on the scene. Meanwhile, Uvalde Unified Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo wasted precious time in the hallways arguing against an effective solution.
The 600-page Department of Justice January Report The commission on the law enforcement response to the shooting concluded that Arredondo, who was the de facto incident commander on the day of the incident, “had the necessary authority, training and tools” but ultimately “failed to provide adequate leadership, command and management, including by failing to establish an incident command structure and directing the entry into Rooms 111 and 112.”
Arredondo ordered officers not to enter the classroom where the shooter was, dropped their radios upon arrival, treated the incident as a “barricaded subject situation, not an active shooter situation,” and waited for SWAT to arrive.
The Justice Department report clarified that Arredondo and his companions retreated after the initial exchange of gunfire rather than “immediately and continuously advancing toward the threat until they had entered Classroom 111/112 and the threat had been eliminated.”
Texas House of Representatives 2022
Interim report Similarly, despite being in a position to act, Arredondo “failed to communicate reliably with other law enforcement agencies and was unable to effectively orchestrate or control the situation,” the report said.
Urvalde Leader News
report Arredondo’s Indictment Prosecutors this week accused him of “knowingly, willfully, recklessly and negligently” putting 10 students in imminent danger of bodily injury or death by failing to recognize gunfire when it was heard in his classroom.
The indictment also states that after learning that children had been injured, Arredondo instructed officers to evacuate the building before confronting the shooter, that he did not even check to see if the door to Classroom 111 was locked, and that he “failed to timely provide keys and entry tools for entering Classrooms 111 and 112.”
report NBC News.
The Justice Department report noted that the door was likely left unlocked.
Arredondo turned himself in to the Uvalde County Jail on Thursday and was released on bail shortly after.
Uvalde Police Department
I got it. He said he has not been contacted by the district attorney’s office about the employee and would not be commenting on the matter at this time.
Austin American Statesman
report The grand jury also indicted former University of California, Irvine (UCISD) employee Adrian Gonzalez. If convicted, Arredondo and Gonzalez each face up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
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