Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas capturing to hitch 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 just three weeks in the past after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the group. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased Faculty District, stopped at the very least 19 officers from breaking into the varsity because the gunman opened fireplace for not less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children were not below an lively threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, stated Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the proper determination. It was a unsuitable determination. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a information convention. “There were plenty of officers to do what needed to be achieved, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed more tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In response to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic menace, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he spent time discovering keys that might let him into the varsity. During this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered access to carry out the assault. Nineteen students and two lecturers had been killed.

Arredondo was not current among law enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly name him.

Arredondo didn't instantly return a request for remark by NBC Information.

Because the neighborhood demands solutions and pieces together a shaky and conflicting timeline of events, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working as 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 position of chief of police for the Uvalde school district, according to the Uvalde Leader-Information.

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 told the Chief-News that he was desirous to serve the community, saying he was committed to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he could be leading. 

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

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his local 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 in the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-Information. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the bottom running. I've loads of ideas, and I undoubtedly have loads of drive,” Arredondo advised 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.