The Uvalde faculty district’s embattled police chief has been fired following allegations that he made a number of essential errors through the mass capturing at Robb Elementary College that left 19 college students and two lecturers lifeless.
In a unanimous vote, the Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased College District’s (CISD) board of trustees dismissed police chief Pete Arredondo, three months to the day after one of many deadliest classroom shootings in US historical past.
“Coward!” dad and mom yelled in a Uvalde auditorium because the assembly bought underway.
Mr Arredondo is the primary officer dismissed over the hesitant and fumbling legislation enforcement response to the Might 24 tragedy.
Just one different officer — Uvalde Police Division lieutenant Mariano Pargas, who was town’s appearing police chief on the day of the bloodbath — is thought to have been positioned on go away for his or her actions through the capturing.
Mr Arredondo, who has been on go away from the district since June 22, has come underneath essentially the most intense scrutiny of the practically 400 officers who rushed to the varsity however waited greater than an hour to confront the 18-year-old gunman in a fourth-grade classroom.
Most notably, Mr Arredondo was criticised for not ordering officers to behave sooner. Colonel Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Division of Public Security, has stated Mr Arredondo was answerable for the legislation enforcement response to the assault.
Mr Arredondo was not in attendance along with his profession on the road.
As a substitute, minutes earlier than the assembly of the Uvalde faculty board bought underway, Mr Arredondo’s legal professional launched a scathing 4,500-word letter that amounted to the police chief’s fullest defence thus far of his actions.
Over 17 defiant pages, Mr Arredondo shouldn't be the fumbling faculty police chief who a damning state investigation blamed for not taking command and wasted time by searching for keys to a possible unlocked door, however a courageous officer whose level-headed selections saved the lives of different college students.
The letter additionally accused Uvalde faculty officers of placing his life in danger by not letting him carry a weapon to the varsity board assembly.
“Chief Arredondo is a frontrunner and a brave officer who with the entire different legislation enforcement officers who responded to the scene, needs to be celebrated for the lives saved, as an alternative of vilified for these they couldn’t attain in time,” the letter said.
Uvalde faculty officers have been underneath mounting stress from victims’ households and members of the group, a lot of whom have known as for Mr Arredondo’s termination.
Superintendent Hal Harrell had first moved to fireplace Mr Arredondo in July however postponed the choice on the request of the police chief’s legal professional.
The Texas Division of Public Security, which had greater than 90 state troopers on the scene, has additionally launched an inside investigation into the response by state police.
Uvalde CISD didn't instantly reply to a request for remark.