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

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not instantly ship officers into Robb Elementary Faculty to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council just three weeks ago after operating on a platform of communication and outreach to the group. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Impartial School District, stopped at the very least 19 officers from breaking into the school as the gunman opened hearth for not less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters were not beneath an lively threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said Friday. 

“From the good thing about hindsight the place I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the correct choice. It was a improper decision. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a information conference. “There have been loads of officers to do what needed to be completed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed more tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

According to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic menace, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he frolicked finding keys that might let him into the varsity. During this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the attack. Nineteen students and two teachers had been killed.

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

Arredondo didn't immediately return a request for comment by NBC Information.

Because the neighborhood calls for 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 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 accordance with the Uvalde Leader-News.

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

Arredondo informed the Leader-Information that he was desperate to serve the group, saying he was committed to establishing a robust working relationship with the three officers he could be main. 

“We want to make sure that we are available wherever we're needed,” Arredondo informed the newspaper.

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

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

“I’m very excited, I'm able to hit the ground running. I have plenty of ideas, and I undoubtedly have loads of drive,” Arredondo instructed 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.