Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas taking pictures to hitch City Council

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

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased Faculty District, stopped not less than 19 officers from breaking into the college because the gunman opened hearth for no less than an hour.

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

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

In line with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively risk, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he hung out discovering keys that might let him into the varsity. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the assault. Nineteen college students and two teachers were killed.

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

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

As the group calls for answers and items together 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, according to the Uvalde Leader-Information.

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 informed the Leader-Information that he was desperate to serve the neighborhood, saying he was dedicated to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he could be leading. 

“We need to make sure 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 successful bid for a Metropolis Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering nearly 70 p.c of the vote within the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-News. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm ready to hit the bottom operating. I have loads of ideas, and I positively have plenty of drive,” Arredondo informed 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 in Chicago.