Due to the aftermath of the response to the massacre at Robb Elementary on May 24 that left 19 children and two teachers dead, the police department for the Uvalde, Texas, school district has been suspended “for some time.”
“The District remains committed to resolving issues with verifiable evidence. Decisions concerning the UCISD police department have been pending the Texas Police Chiefs Association and JPPI investigation results. Recent developments have uncovered additional concerns with department operations,” the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District stated on Friday.
Current police officers “will serve other tasks in the district” during the suspension. The district asked the Texas Department of Public Safety to send more officers to the school and extracurricular events in the meantime.
Additionally, the district placed Ken Mueller, the director of student services, and Lt. Miguel Hernandez on administrative leave. Following the announcement, Mueller decided to step down.
When it was discovered that 1 hour, 14 minutes, and 8 seconds had gone between when police officers entered the building and when the shooter was slain, the incident provoked indignation and an investigation. Almost 400 police officers arrived at the scene.
A blistering report released in July by a Texas House committee noted “systemic failures and egregiously poor decision-making” by police and the school district.
The report stated that no other individual was to blame for the massacre beyond the gunman. Still, it outlined several failures made in not intervening with the 18-year-old gunman, preventing the shooting, or minimizing the devastation. It also noted that a lack of clear leadership and direction contributed to officers’ “overall lackadaisical approach” to the shooting.
Many of the 376 responding officers “were given and relied upon inaccurate information,” and others “had enough information to know better,” the report concluded.
“The scene was chaotic, without any person obviously in charge or directing the law enforcement response,” the report stated.
Pete Arredondo, the police chief for the Uvalde school district, was dismissed in August on the superintendent of the district’s recommendation. Although Arredondo has stated that he did not view himself as the officer in control, the Texas House committee’s report stated that he would have been the incident commander under the district’s active shooter strategy.
Just last week, less than a day after allegations of Officer Crimson Elizondo’s hiring broke, the district let her go. Elizondo, a Texas state trooper who reacted to the massacre, was one of seven troopers whose actions are currently under internal review.
She is heard telling officers on the scene that if her son was inside the building, according to police body camera footage obtained by CNN, “That is not where I would have gone. I’ll keep my word.” In August, she gave her trooper resignation.
Uvalde school administrators apologized on Thursday but did not elaborate on why they chose to hire Elizondo.
“We sincerely apologize to the victims’ families and the greater Uvalde community for the pain that this revelation has caused,” the statement said.
There are numerous ongoing investigations concerning the shooting. The district stated on Friday that it will continue to work with JPPI Investigations and the Texas Police Chiefs Association and that the findings of those investigations will influence “future personnel choices” and the selection of a new police chief.
This story is still developing. Please return for updates.
