For his part in the police’s reaction to the second-worst school shooting in British history, previous Uvalde city police captain Pete Arredondo has been booked and released on 10 counts of child danger.
It marks the second criminal charges in the remarkably- scrutinized police reaction to the May 2022 shooting, in which an 18- year- ancient gunman killed 19 children and two teachers.
Almost 376 law enforcement officers responded from a number of local, state, and federal agencies, but it took the soldiers 77 minutes to break into the classroom and kill the shooter. Border Patrol officials finally shot and killed the shooter.
$ A r 10, 000 principal bond at 6: 24 p. m., according to state officials.
A Uvalde County grand jury indicted Arredondo, another former police officer with UCISD, Adrian Gonzales, for the first time, according to the San Antonio Express-News. According to the newspaper, both are facing criminal claims of abandoning or injuring a child. Nexstar has no confirmed Gonzales’ costs.
A grand jury convened in January to examine why it took rules protection more than an hour to reply to the active shooter, and whether additional criminal charges might be brought against them.
The Department of Justice earlier this year released a scathing assessment of the very scrutinized police response, which revealed there were” spiraling problems” in officers ‘ responses to the slaughter.
Initially after the massacre, a special Texas House investigative committee also reviewed the shooting, the school’s safety and security protocols and police response. The three-member panel came to the conclusion that there were “multiple systemic failures,” including “multiple systemic failures” that included” a culture of noncompliance with school security” as well as “warning signs online from the shooter.”
Rep. Joe Moody, D- El Paso, was vice- chair of the committee. In a statement to Nexstar, Moody said “accountability is important”.
Anyone who reads our investigation into the shooting will probably know that Arredondo, he said, “failed to support the families of Uvalde.” ” But those same families are always my top priority,” she said,” so I hope the way this is handled provides them with justice and closure, not long agonizing.”
Other responding officers who received disciplinary action
Arredondo was the first law enforcement official to be fired for the” chaotic and uncoordinated” police response that day. Arredondo has claimed through his attorney that despite the UCISD’s “directing its police chief to assume command,” he did not know he was the designated incident commander for the response.
In November, the city was scheduled to hold a vote on Lt. Mariano Pargas ‘ resignation as acting police chief of the Uvalde Police Department.  ,
Of the 91 Texas Department of Public Safety officers who responded to Robb Elementary on May 24, seven were , put under investigation for their response , to the shooting. Actions were taken against two officers, Ranger Ryan Kindell and Sgt. Juan Maldonado. Maldonado was terminated.
A third DPS employee, Trooper , Crimson Elizondo, retired and then went to work as a police officer with Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. Despite the fact that DPS was looking into her response to the shooting, Lizondo was fired from the district in October after media reports revealed her new employment with UCISD.
After terminating Elizondo, UCISD suspended , its entire police department , and placed two top officials, Lt. Miguel Hernandez and Student Services Director Ken Mueller, on administrative leave. Mueller has since retired.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
