Embattled chief placed on leave
Faced criticism for inaction at Uvalde school incident
Uvalde Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo, who has faced blistering criticism for his decision to keep officers at bay while a school shooter was in a classroom with children, was placed on administrative leave late Wednesday.
The Uvalde school district Superintendent Hal Harrell announced he placed Arredondo on leave as questions continue to swirl about the chief ’s response to the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
“Today, I am still without details of the investigations being conducted by various agencies,” Harrell said in a statement. “Because of the lack of clarity that remains and the unknown timing of when I will receive the results of the investigations, I have made the decision to place Chief Arredondo on administrative leave effective on this date.”
Arredondo was the scene commander for the police response to the shooting. In the near month since the shooting occurred, troubling revelations about his decisions have emerged on a near daily basis and created frustration and trauma among a community that continues to grieve. On Tuesday, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety and a mass shootings expert said Arredondo’s decisions cost lives.
On top of calls for him to resign from the school police force, Arredondo has also faced growing calls for him to resign from the Uvalde City Council. He won election to the position on May 7 and was sworn in to the council in secret.
At a Tuesday night meeting of the Uvalde City Council, Uvalde residents, including family members of slain victims, called for Arredondo to be removed from the board. They urged the council to disapprove Arredondo’s handwritten request for a leave from attending meetings to pave the way for his removal should he be absent from three consecutive meetings.
Jasmine Cazares, sister of Uvalde shooting victim Jacklyn Jaylen Cazares, 9, and cousin of Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10, said Arredondo should be accountable for his actions, and that he does not deserve to be on the council. “Most of us agree the respectful thing to do is resign and step down,” she said.
“Was this oath upheld on May 24?” she continued. “It wasn’t and I want you all to know. Remember
my face. I remember hers. Because we will be here at every City Council meeting until something changes.”
The council unanimously voted against Arredondo’s request for a leave of absence. Uvalde Mayor Don Mclaughlin said that Tuesday’s meeting marked the first of three required absences before the council could have him removed.
The lack of information from the agencies investigating the shooting, including the Justice Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Uvalde County district attorney’s office, led the state senator representing Uvalde to sue DPS Wednesday.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat, accused DPS of a cover-up and violating the Texas Public
Information Act for not responding to an open records request his office filed on May 31.
“In the wake of this massacre, the State of Texas has completely failed to provide the community of Uvalde with truthful answers,” Gutierrez said in a statement.
In Uvalde, the city’s mayor bristled about how senators in Austin were getting access to details from DPS chief Steven Mccraw that were not provided to him. Mclaughlin referred to a Senate hearing on the shooting that continued Wednesday as the “Bozo the Clown show,” during Tuesday’s council meeting.
At the Capitol, the second day of Senate hearings continued with a focus on mental health.