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

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not instantly ship officers into Robb Elementary College to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council just three weeks in the past after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the neighborhood. 

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

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

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the correct choice. It was a unsuitable resolution. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw stated at a news conference. “There were plenty of officers to do what wanted to be performed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more equipment and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In line with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively menace, so instead of sending officers in, he hung out discovering keys that might let him into the college. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the assault. Nineteen college students and two lecturers have been killed.

Arredondo was not present among legislation 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 Information.

Because the neighborhood calls for solutions and pieces collectively 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 place of chief of police for the Uvalde school district, in accordance with 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 informed the Leader-Information that he was desperate to serve the group, saying he was committed to establishing a robust working relationship with the three officers he can be main. 

“We wish to ensure that we can be found wherever we are wanted,” 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 different candidates, garnering practically 70 p.c of the vote within the Might 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-Information. 

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

“I’m very excited, I am ready to hit the ground working. I've plenty of concepts, and I undoubtedly have plenty of drive,” Arredondo told the outlet this month.

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

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