Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas taking pictures to affix Metropolis Council

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not instantly ship officers into Robb Elementary College to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council simply three weeks in the past after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the community. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased College District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the school as the gunman opened fireplace for at the least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters weren't beneath an active risk, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, said Friday. 

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the correct determination. It was a flawed determination. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a news conference. “There were plenty of officers to do what wanted to be finished, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more tools and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

Based on McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively risk, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he spent time finding keys that would let him into the college. During this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered access to hold out the assault. Nineteen students and two lecturers had been killed.

Arredondo was not current amongst regulation enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly title him.

Arredondo did not immediately return a request for remark by NBC News.

Because the group demands solutions and items collectively 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 Impartial Faculty District in Laredo, Texas, about 140 miles south of Uvalde, Arredondo returned to his hometown in April 2020, when he accepted the place of chief of police for the Uvalde college district, based on the Uvalde Chief-News.

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

Arredondo advised the Leader-Information that he was desirous to serve the community, saying he was committed to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he would be leading. 

“We need to ensure that we are available wherever we're needed,” Arredondo instructed the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a successful bid for a Metropolis Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering practically 70 percent of the vote within the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-Information. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the bottom operating. I've loads of concepts, and I undoubtedly have plenty of drive,” Arredondo advised the outlet this month.

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

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