Uvalde superintendent recommends school police chief Pete Arredondo be fired

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Uvalde superintendent recommends school police chief Pete Arredondo be fired: According to the agenda for a Board of Education meeting in Uvalde, Texas, the school superintendent has proposed removing Pete Arredondo, the school police chief who oversaw the reaction to the May mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.

According to the schedule, the board will have a special meeting Saturday at 10 a.m. for “discussion and possible action regarding termination for good reason as proposed by the Superintendent.”

According to a source close to the discussions, the meeting announcement came a day after district officials informed Arredondo that the school board intended to meet Saturday to consider his fate. The board is poised to vote to fire Arredondo, who was placed on administrative leave last month, according to a CNN source.

CNN contacted Arredondo’s attorney but did not receive a response.

Arredondo, the school district’s police chief since March 2020, was among almost 400 law enforcement officers who reacted to the May 24 shooting in which a gunman entered contiguous classrooms within the Texas school.

According to a schedule provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety, officers arrived at the school within minutes but allowed the gunman to remain in the classrooms for 77 minutes before entering and killing him (DPS). By the time cops broke down the door, 19 children and two teachers had died.

The lengthy delay violated widely taught protocol for active shooter scenarios, which calls for authorities to swiftly stop the threat, and occurred even while youngsters inside repeatedly dialed 911 and begged for assistance.

According to a schedule provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety, officers arrived at the school within minutes but allowed the gunman to remain in the classrooms for 77 minutes before entering and killing him (DPS). By the time cops broke down the door, 19 children and two teachers had died.

The lengthy delay violated widely taught protocol for active shooter scenarios, which calls for authorities to swiftly stop the threat, and occurred even while youngsters inside repeatedly dialed 911 and begged for assistance.

It also stated that others may have taken command.

According to the report, Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training “teaches that any law enforcement officer can take charge, that someone must take command, and that an incident commander can transfer responsibilities as an incident develops.” “That did not occur at Robb Elementary, and the lack of effective incident leadership was a major factor in the failure to implement other critical measures.”

Arredondo was placed on leave last month

Hal Harrell, the superintendent of the Uvalde school system, put Arredondo on leave as the head of the school police on June 22 in response to harsh criticism.

Harrell stated in the statement, “I have decided to place Chief Arredondo on administrative leave effective at this date. I have done so due to the lack of clarity that still exists and the unknown timeline of when I will receive the results of the investigations.

Arredondo, who has nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience, hasn’t given the public a detailed account of his choices on the day of the shooting, but he did tell the Texas Tribune and the House Committee that he didn’t see himself as the on-scene commander.

According to the DPS chronology, at least one of the responding officers claimed that Arredondo was in charge of the law enforcement response inside the school, informing others that “the chief is in charge.”

Arredondo also admitted to the Tribune that he did not give any orders telling officers not to enter the classrooms.

According to a letter of resignation he gave to the city, Arredondo resigned from the Uvalde City Council at the beginning of July.

In the letter, Arredondo stated that “After careful deliberation, it is in the best interest of the community to resign as a member of the City Council for District 3 to reduce further distractions.” “The Mayor, the City Council, and the City Staff must keep working to bring our community back together,” the mayor said.