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

The police chief who reportedly made the call not to instantly ship officers into Robb Elementary Faculty 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 neighborhood. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent College District, stopped at least 19 officers from breaking into the college as the gunman opened fireplace for at the very least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the kids weren't under an lively menace, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Security, said Friday. 

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the best determination. It was a unsuitable determination. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a information conference. “There have been loads of officers to do what wanted to be finished, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra gear and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In keeping with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively menace, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he hung out finding keys that would let him into the varsity. During this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered access to carry out the assault. Nineteen students and two teachers had been killed.

Arredondo was not current amongst regulation enforcement officials standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw didn't explicitly title him.

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

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

After working because the police captain at the United Independent College 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 faculty district, in response to the Uvalde Leader-Information.

The previous 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 instructed the Leader-News that he was eager to serve the group, 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 successful bid for a Metropolis Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering nearly 70 percent of the vote within the Might 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-Information. 

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

“I’m very excited, I am ready to hit the bottom operating. I have plenty of concepts, and I undoubtedly have loads of drive,” Arredondo instructed 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 News Digital, primarily based in Chicago.