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

The police chief who reportedly made the call not to instantly send officers into Robb Elementary College 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 neighborhood. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent Faculty District, stopped at the very least 19 officers from breaking into the school as the gunman opened fire for no less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters were not underneath an active risk, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, said Friday. 

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the correct choice. It was a wrong resolution. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a information conference. “There have been plenty of officers to do what wanted to be achieved, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed more tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

According to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively risk, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he hung out discovering keys that will let him into the varsity. During this time, nevertheless, the shooter had unencumbered access to hold out the attack. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed.

Arredondo was not current amongst regulation enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly identify him.

Arredondo didn't immediately return a request for comment by NBC Information.

As the neighborhood calls for solutions and items together a shaky and conflicting timeline of occasions, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working as the police captain at 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 position of chief of police for the Uvalde faculty district, in keeping with the Uvalde Chief-News.

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

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

“We wish to be sure that we are available wherever we are wanted,” Arredondo told the newspaper.

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

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

“I’m very excited, I am able to hit the ground operating. I've plenty of concepts, and I positively have plenty of drive,” Arredondo instructed 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 News Digital, primarily based in Chicago.