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

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

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased Faculty District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the college because the gunman opened fireplace for no less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children weren't beneath an energetic menace, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Security, said Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight where I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the best choice. It was a incorrect decision. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a information conference. “There have been plenty of officers to do what needed to be achieved, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more gear and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

According to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic threat, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he spent time finding keys that would let him into the varsity. During this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the assault. Nineteen students and two academics had been killed.

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

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

Because the group calls for answers and items collectively a shaky and conflicting timeline of occasions, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working because the police captain at the United Impartial Faculty 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 faculty district, according to the Uvalde Leader-Information.

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 neighborhood, saying he was committed to establishing a robust working relationship with the three officers he can be main. 

“We want to be certain that we can be found wherever we are needed,” Arredondo told 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 percent of the vote in the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-News. 

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

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

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

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