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

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not instantly send 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 neighborhood. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, stopped at least 19 officers from breaking into the varsity because the gunman opened hearth for at the least an hour.

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

“From the good thing about hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the precise determination. It was a improper determination. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a information convention. “There have been plenty of officers to do what needed to be completed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more gear and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

According to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active threat, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that might let him into the school. During this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the attack. Nineteen college students and two lecturers had been killed.

Arredondo was not present amongst law enforcement officials standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw didn't explicitly name him.

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

Because the community demands answers and pieces 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 Impartial 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 school district, in line with the Uvalde Leader-Information.

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

Arredondo advised the Chief-Information that he was desirous to serve the community, saying he was committed to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he would be main. 

“We need to make sure we can be found wherever we are needed,” Arredondo informed 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 other candidates, garnering practically 70 percent of the vote in the Might 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-Information. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm able to hit the bottom working. I've plenty of concepts, and I positively have plenty of drive,” Arredondo told 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 Information Digital, based mostly in Chicago.