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

The police chief who reportedly made the decision not to instantly ship officers into Robb Elementary Faculty to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council simply three weeks in the past after working on a platform of communication and outreach to the community. 

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

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

“From the advantage of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the precise resolution. It was a mistaken determination. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news conference. “There were loads of officers to do what needed to be performed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra equipment and extra officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

Based on McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active menace, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that would let him into the school. Throughout this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered access to hold 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 name him.

Arredondo did not immediately return a request for remark by NBC Information.

As the group calls for 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 because the police captain on the United Impartial College 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, in line with the Uvalde Leader-Information.

The previous chief, Leo Flores, resigned after being arrested on costs of unlawfully carrying a gun in a bar and threatening an officer, the newspaper reported. 

Arredondo informed the Leader-News that he was desperate to serve the community, saying he was committed to establishing a robust working relationship with the three officers he could be main. 

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

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a profitable bid for a Metropolis Council seat this month. He beat out three different candidates, garnering practically 70 percent of the vote in the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-Information. 

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

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

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

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