Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas shooting to hitch Metropolis Council

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

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

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

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the right decision. It was a fallacious determination. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news convention. “There have been loads of officers to do what wanted to be finished, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more equipment and extra officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In response to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively risk, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he frolicked finding keys that would let him into the college. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered access to hold out the assault. Nineteen college students and two lecturers were killed.

Arredondo was not current among law enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw didn't explicitly title him.

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

As the community demands answers and items collectively a shaky and conflicting timeline of events, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working as the police captain at the United Unbiased School District in Laredo, Texas, about 140 miles south of Uvalde, Arredondo returned to his hometown in April 2020, when he accepted the position of chief of police for the Uvalde faculty district, based on the Uvalde Chief-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 Chief-Information that he was eager to serve the community, saying he was committed to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he would be main. 

“We need to be certain that we are available wherever we are wanted,” Arredondo advised the newspaper.

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

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

“I’m very excited, I am ready to hit the ground running. I have loads of ideas, and I undoubtedly have loads of drive,” Arredondo instructed the outlet this month.

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

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