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

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not instantly send officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council simply 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 Independent School District, stopped a minimum of 19 officers from breaking into the college as the gunman opened fire for no less than an hour.

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

“From the good thing about hindsight the place I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the proper determination. It was a improper decision. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a information convention. “There have been loads of officers to do what needed to be achieved, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra equipment and extra officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In line with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic menace, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he hung out finding keys that might let him into the varsity. During this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered access to hold out the assault. Nineteen students and two academics have been killed.

Arredondo was not current amongst legislation enforcement officials standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly identify him.

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

As the group demands answers 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 at the United Unbiased School 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-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 told the Leader-News that he was desirous to serve the group, saying he was committed to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he could be main. 

“We wish to make sure that we can be found wherever we are 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 different candidates, garnering almost 70 p.c of the vote in the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-News. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the bottom running. I have loads of concepts, and I positively have plenty 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 Information Digital, based mostly in Chicago.