A campaign sign for Pete Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District.
Jae C. Hong/AP
- During Uvalde’s city council meeting Tuesday, community members gathered for public comment.
- Many of the comments centered on Pete Arredondo, the school district’s police chief, who also serves on the city’s council.
- “He does not deserve an administrative leave with pay,” said the grandmother of Amerie Jo Garza.
Uvalde’s school district police chief Pete Arredondo was denied a leave of absence from his city council position after members of the community lined up to criticize his response to the Robb Elementary School shooting.
The city council’s unanimous decision on Tuesday was met with cheers from the audience after an emotional period of public comment, much of which centered on Arredondo’s response to the May 24 shooting that left 16 children and two teachers dead.
Arredondo, who was sworn in as a councilmember a week following the shooting, has been roundly criticized for deciding to wait more than an hour for backup instead of confronting the shooter, who was later killed by US Border Patrol.
In a plea to councilmembers during the heated council meeting, the grandmother of 10-year-old Amerie Jo Garza said she wanted Arredondo removed from his position, which he assumed shortly after the shooting.
“Get him out of our faces and no he does not deserve an administrative leave with pay,” she said.
Public officials including state law enforcement and lawmakers have blamed Arredondo for the chaotic response to the shooting. The gunman entered the school building at 11:33 a.m, but it wasn’t until 12:50 p.m. that authorities were able to get into the classroom and kill the shooter. In that time, Arredondo chose to wait for backup, supplies, and SWAT before entering, said Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw Tuesday in testimony to state lawmakers.
“Terrible decisions were made by the on-scene commander and should have never happened, plain and simple,” McCraw said, referring to Arredondo.
Sen. Paul Bettencourt challenged the police chief for testifying before a Texas House committee in private, instead of publicly testifying about his role that day.
In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Arredondo has maintained that he didn’t think he was in charge of the mass-shooting response.
