Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas taking pictures to hitch City Council

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not instantly send officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council just three weeks ago after operating on a platform of communication and outreach to the group. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Impartial School District, stopped a minimum of 19 officers from breaking into the school because the gunman opened fireplace for at least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters were not beneath an lively menace, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Security, said Friday. 

“From the good thing about hindsight where I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the appropriate decision. It was a incorrect decision. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news convention. “There have been loads of officers to do what wanted to be executed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra equipment and more officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In keeping with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively risk, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he spent time finding keys that will let him into the varsity. During this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the assault. Nineteen college students and two lecturers had been killed.

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

Arredondo didn't immediately return a request for remark by NBC News.

As the community calls for answers and pieces together 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 Impartial School 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, according to 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 instructed the Leader-Information that he was wanting to serve the group, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he can be main. 

“We want to make sure we can be found wherever we're needed,” Arredondo advised the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his local likability led to a profitable bid for a Metropolis Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering practically 70 % of the vote within the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-News. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm able to hit the bottom operating. I've plenty of concepts, and I definitely have plenty of drive,” Arredondo advised the outlet this month.

Arredondo is scheduled to be sworn onto the council on Tuesday, exactly one week after the Uvalde capturing.

Safia Samee Ali is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based in Chicago.