Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas shooting to join 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 City Council simply 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 College District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the school as the gunman opened hearth for at least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children were not beneath an energetic threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, mentioned Friday. 

“From the benefit of hindsight where I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the best determination. It was a flawed decision. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a information conference. “There have been loads of officers to do what needed to be executed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed more gear and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In response to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active threat, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he spent time discovering keys that may let him into the school. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered access to hold out the attack. Nineteen college students and two lecturers have been killed.

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

Arredondo didn't instantly return a request for remark by NBC Information.

As the community demands solutions and items collectively a shaky and conflicting timeline of events, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working because the police captain on the United Unbiased School District in Laredo, Texas, about 140 miles south of Uvalde, Arredondo returned to his hometown in April 2020, when he accepted the position of chief of police for the Uvalde college district, in accordance with the Uvalde Chief-News.

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

Arredondo instructed the Leader-News that he was eager to serve the community, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he would be main. 

“We need to make certain we are available wherever we are wanted,” Arredondo informed the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a successful bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering nearly 70 % of the vote in the Might 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-News. 

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 loads of ideas, and I undoubtedly have loads of drive,” Arredondo told 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, primarily based in Chicago.