Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas capturing to join Metropolis Council

The police chief who reportedly made the call not to immediately ship officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council just three weeks ago after working on a platform of communication and outreach to the neighborhood. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased College District, stopped a minimum of 19 officers from breaking into the varsity as the gunman opened hearth for not less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters weren't below an energetic threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Safety, mentioned Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the fitting choice. It was a flawed decision. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news convention. “There have been plenty of officers to do what needed to be carried out, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In response to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active menace, so instead of sending officers in, he hung out discovering keys that might let him into the school. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the assault. Nineteen students and two lecturers have been killed.

Arredondo was not present amongst law enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly identify him.

Arredondo did not instantly return a request for comment by NBC Information.

As the community calls for answers and items together a shaky and conflicting timeline of occasions, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working because the police captain on the United Unbiased Faculty District in Laredo, Texas, about 140 miles south of Uvalde, Arredondo returned to his hometown in April 2020, when he accepted the position of chief of police for the Uvalde school district, in response to the Uvalde Leader-Information.

The former chief, Leo Flores, resigned after being arrested on expenses of unlawfully carrying a gun in a bar and threatening an officer, the newspaper reported. 

Arredondo advised the Chief-Information that he was eager to serve the group, saying he was dedicated to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he would be main. 

“We need to make sure that we can be found wherever we're needed,” Arredondo instructed the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a profitable bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering almost 70 p.c of the vote within the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-Information. 

The chief campaigned, largely door-to-door, on communication and outreach “to those in need,” the newspaper mentioned. 

“I’m very excited, I am able to hit the bottom running. I have loads of ideas, and I undoubtedly have plenty of drive,” Arredondo informed the outlet this month.

Arredondo is scheduled to be sworn onto the council on Tuesday, precisely one week after the Uvalde capturing.

Safia Samee Ali is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in Chicago.