Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas capturing to join Metropolis Council

The police chief who reportedly made the decision to not immediately send officers into Robb Elementary College 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 community. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Unbiased School District, stopped not less than 19 officers from breaking into the varsity because the gunman opened fireplace for at least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the kids weren't under an energetic risk, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Security, stated Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the suitable decision. It was a fallacious determination. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a information convention. “There have been plenty of officers to do what wanted to be done, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra tools and extra officers to do a tactical breach at that time."

In line with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic risk, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he hung out discovering keys that might let him into the varsity. During this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the attack. Nineteen students and two lecturers were killed.

Arredondo was not present among legislation enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly name him.

Arredondo did not instantly return a request for comment by NBC Information.

Because the community demands answers and pieces together 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 Unbiased School 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 keeping with the Uvalde Chief-News.

The former 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 advised the Leader-Information that he was eager to serve the community, saying he was dedicated to establishing a robust working relationship with the three officers he would be main. 

“We need to be certain that we are available wherever we're 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 almost 70 percent of the vote in the Might 7 election, reported the Uvalde Leader-News. 

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

“I’m very excited, I am able to hit the ground operating. I've plenty of ideas, 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 capturing.

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