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Uvarde, Texas (AP) — The Uvarde School District police chief swore in the city council just weeks after being sworn in after allegedly making a mistake in responding to a mass shooting at Rob Elementary School. I resigned from my position. A school that lost 19 students and 2 teachers.
Chief Pete Aledondo told Uvalde Leader News on Friday that he had decided to resign for the benefit of the city administration. He was elected to the Third District Council on May 7, and was sworn in at a private ceremony on May 31, just one week after the slaughter.
"I'm sorry to inform those who voted for me that after careful consideration, I decided to resign as a member of the City Council in District 3. , City council, and city officials must keep moving forward without distraction. I think this is the best decision for Uvalde, "Arredondo said.
Arredondo, who has been on administrative leave from the school district since June 22, has rejected repeated requests for comments from Associated Press. His lawyer, George Hyde, did not immediately respond to the comment request sent by email on Saturday.
Colonel Stephen McLaugh, Director of the Texas Public Safety Agency, said at a hearing in the State Senate last month that on-site commander Aledondo was "terrible" as the May 24 slaughter unfolded. He said he made a decision. The police response was a "serious failure."
Three minutes after 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered school, a well-armed law enforcement agency was on the scene and was able to stop the shooters, McLough said. I testified. Still, rifle-armed police officers stood in the school corridor and waited for more than an hour while the shooters were slaughtering. It wasn't possible to lock the classroom door from the inside, but there was no sign that police were trying to open the door while the shooter was inside, McLaugh said.
McLaugh repeatedly asks the 911 operator for help while his parents beg the police outside the school to move and students in the classroom are waiting for a dozen police officers in the hallway. I said that. Officers from other agencies urged Arredondo to move them in because the children were at risk.
"The reason why the full-time officer's corridor was blocked from entering rooms 111 and 112 was the scene where it was decided to prioritize the officer's life over the children's life. Was only the commander of the. "
Aledondo tries to defend his actions, telling the Texas Tribune that he does not consider himself the commander in charge of the operation, and someone else controls the response of the law enforcement agency. He said he was assuming that he was there. He didn't have police or campus radio, but he said he used his mobile phone to call tactical equipment, snipers, and classroom keys.
It's still unclear why police took so long to enter the classroom, how they kept in touch with each other during the attack, and what their body cameras show. It's not clear.
Authorities refused to publish details, citing the investigation.
Arredondo, 50, grew up in Uvalde and spent most of his nearly 30 years in law enforcement agencies in the city.
