U.S. News
Uvalde school board fires police chief months after shooting [Video]
- Uvalde police chief Pete Arredondo has been terminated by the school district board on Wednesday, three months after the Robb Elementary School shooting.
- Arredondo has been identified as the incident commander who delayed response for over 70 minutes.
- Arredondo did not attend the termination hearing, which he considered an “illegal and unconstitutional public lynching.”
The Uvalde school district’s board terminated police chief Pete Arredondo on Wednesday, which marked the three-month anniversary of the Robb Elementary School shooting that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers.
Bereaved family members gathered at the meeting to air out their grievances. One Uvalde resident, Brett Cross, called out Arredondo for not having the decency to attend his own termination hearing. The crowd was then heard yelling, “Coward!”
Arredondo’s absence was explained in a 17-page letter sent by his attorney, George Hyde, less than an hour before the meeting.
In the letter, he called the meeting an “illegal and unconstitutional public lynching.” He also requested his immediate reinstatement, “with all backpay and benefits,” and to “close the complaint as unfounded.”
Before the school board proceeded to a closed-door session, Cross implored them to conduct it in public. He argued, “Our babies are dead. Our teachers are dead. Our parents are dead. The least y’all can do is show us the respect to do this in the public.”
After about an hour of deliberation, the board unanimously voted for Arredondo’s termination.
Parents and locals have long called out the delayed response by the police, especially Arredondo, who was identified as the incident commander.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw blamed Arredondo for delaying over 70 minutes before engaging the shooter. Reports and surveillance footage also showed that the officers waited for over an hour outside the classrooms before making a move.
Meanwhile, in Hyde’s letter, Arredondo claimed that he was not aware of any civilian’s presence in the classroom where the shooter was until entry was made. He also did not consider himself to be the incident commander.
According to a Texas House committee investigation, “Chief Arredondo testified that he immediately began to think of the attacker as being ‘cornered’ and the situation as being one of a ‘barricaded subject,’” despite it having started as an “active shooter” scenario. “With the benefit of hindsight, we now know this was a terrible, tragic mistake,” the report continued.
Arredondo was initially placed on administrative leave in late June and his termination hearing was delayed twice.
Source: Fox News
RSM4
August 28, 2022 at 1:19 am
Arredondo filled 17 pages with excuses. Somewhere in it he probably blamed Trump, anti-vaxers, etc – everyone and everything – but himself.
If his actions that day were any indication, no wonder his officers were just spectators. Arredondo did not take charge of the scene. Officers from other departments and agencies arrived, Arredondo let confusion reign. By his own account he was in a courageous struggle with a ring of keys for over a half hour. He had claimed he was trying to identify the right key to unlock the classroom door, which may not have even been locked.
During 24 years in the Army, I saw a couple (thank God only a couple) leaders like him. I ran a support unit in Germany as we ramped up for Desert Shield. We ran support missions 24/7 in addition to making our own preparations to deploy. Our Group Commander was a full Colonel., and his HQ was 70 miles away. Instead of providing any guidance and direction related to the mission, he spent days sending memos, ranting that all units had to repaint the scuffed safety yellow curbs at our buildings, even if it meant delaying a mission.
My commander, showed me the first memo. I said,”We never got this.” Somehow, his other paint memos kinda “disappeared.” 1SG, USA Ret.