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

The police chief who reportedly made the decision to not instantly ship officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council simply three weeks in the past after working on a platform of communication and outreach to the group. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, stopped not less than 19 officers from breaking into the college because the gunman opened hearth for a minimum of an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters were not under an energetic risk, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, mentioned Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight where I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the fitting resolution. It was a mistaken resolution. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a news conference. “There have been plenty of officers to do what needed to be achieved, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra equipment and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In accordance with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively menace, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he frolicked finding keys that will let him into the college. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the attack. Nineteen students and two teachers had been killed.

Arredondo was not current among regulation enforcement officials 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 demands answers and pieces 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 Independent 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, in keeping with 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 instructed the Chief-News that he was desirous to serve the group, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he can be leading. 

“We need to make certain 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 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 want,” the newspaper stated. 

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the ground working. I have loads of concepts, and I definitely have loads of drive,” Arredondo informed the outlet this month.

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

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