School police chief resigns from Uvalde City Council
DALLAS >> Pete Arredondo will resign from his seat on the Uvalde City Council, he told the Uvalde LeaderNews on Friday.
Arredondo, also the Uvalde Consolidated ISD police chief, was elected to the council position May 7 and was sworn into the role May 31, behind closed doors. The swearing-in came less than a week after the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School that killed 19 children and two teachers — the deadliest school shooting in Texas history.
“After much consideration, I regret to inform those who voted for me that I have decided to step down as a member of the City Council for District 3,” Arredondo told the LeaderNews. “The mayor, the City Council and the city staff must continue to move forward without distractions. I feel this is the best decision for Uvalde.”
In a statement released Saturday, the city said Arredondo did not inform them of his decision, which they learned from the newspaper.
“While it is the right thing to do, no one from the city has seen a letter or any other documentation of his resignation, or spoken with him,” the statement said, adding that the vacancy would not be addressed until the city received a formal notice.
The city received a signed letter from Arredondo confirming his resignation hours later.
Law enforcement has been widely criticized for the response in Uvalde. Eighty minutes elapsed between the first call to 911 and police confronting the shooter, who fired at least 142 rounds, according to a timeline from Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw.
Arredondo said afterward he didn't believe he was in charge of the response. Yet he was one of the first responding officers, so those at the scene looked to him for what to do. And he told officers not to enter the classrooms, even though children and teachers were still in danger.
McCraw testified last month before the state Senate that Arredondo's decisions cost lives.
“The only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from (entering rooms) 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children,” McCraw said.
“The officers have weapons, the children had none,” he said. “The officers had body armor, the children had none. The officers had training, the subject had none.”
Arredondo previously asked for an extended leave from the City Council, but was denied the request in a meeting staged June 21.
He was placed on administrative leave from his position as police chief June 22.