Uvalde faculty district police Chief Pete Arredondo was positioned on depart Wednesday, practically a month after his division botched the response to the Robb Elementary College taking pictures that left 19 college students and two lecturers useless.
Arredondo was excused of his duties by Superintendent Dr. Hal Harrell after it was discovered that cops below his command waited 77 minutes to confront gunman Salvador Ramos on Might 24.
“From the start of this horrible occasion, I shared that the district would wait till the investigation was full earlier than making personnel choices,” Harrell wrote in a press launch.
“At the moment, I'm nonetheless with out particulars of the investigations being performed by varied businesses. Due to the dearth of readability that continues to be and the unknown timing of when I'll obtain the outcomes of the investigations, I've made the choice to put Chief Arredondo on administrative depart efficient this date.”
The director of the Texas Division of Public Security testified Tuesday that Arredondo’s response was an “abject failure” and mentioned the chief put the lives of cops “earlier than the lives of youngsters.”
“Errors have been made and it ought to have by no means occurred that approach and we will’t permit that to ever occur … this set our career again a decade,” DPS Director Steve McCraw advised state senators.
Ramos had entered an unlocked door and gained entry to 2 adjoining school rooms the place he murdered fourth graders for nicely over an hour. Arredondo and his officers didn't even try to enter the rooms till a tactical workforce arrived 77 minutes after the violence started, safety footage confirmed.
McCraw advised lawmakers that the 9 officers that have been current three minutes after the taking pictures started had sufficient energy in numbers to “isolate, distract and neutralize the topic.”
“The officers had weapons, the youngsters had none. The officers had physique armor, the youngsters had none. The officers had coaching, the topic had none,” McCraw testified.
Investigators mentioned Arredondo mistakenly handled the taking pictures as a barricaded suspect incident as a substitute of an energetic shooter scenario, the place the highest precedence is for cops to confront the suspect to cease the violence.
Ramos was ultimately killed by police.
UCISD Lieutenant Mike Hernandez was slated to briefly assume Arredondo’s duties, Harrell mentioned.
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