Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas shooting to join City Council

The police chief who reportedly made the decision to not immediately send officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council simply three weeks in the past after operating on a platform of communication and outreach to the community. 

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

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

“From the good thing about hindsight the place I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the proper resolution. It was a wrong determination. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news convention. “There were plenty of officers to do what wanted to be carried out, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra equipment and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In line with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active menace, so instead of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that will let him into the college. During 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 amongst legislation enforcement officials standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly title him.

Arredondo did not instantly return a request for remark by NBC News.

As the group demands solutions and items 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 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 accordance with the Uvalde Chief-News.

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

Arredondo advised the Leader-News that he was eager to serve the group, saying he was dedicated to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he can be main. 

“We wish to be certain we are available wherever we're needed,” Arredondo instructed 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 nearly 70 p.c 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'm ready to hit the bottom operating. I have loads of ideas, and I undoubtedly have plenty 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, based mostly in Chicago.