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

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not instantly send officers into Robb Elementary School to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's City Council just three weeks in the past after running on a platform of communication and outreach to the neighborhood. 

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

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

“From the good thing about hindsight the place I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the precise resolution. It was a wrong choice. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a information convention. “There have been loads of officers to do what needed to be completed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more gear and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

According to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively threat, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that would let him into the varsity. Throughout this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered access to hold out the assault. Nineteen college students and two teachers were killed.

Arredondo was not present among regulation enforcement officials standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly title him.

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

Because the group calls for answers and pieces 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 Independent Faculty 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 response to the Uvalde Chief-News.

The previous 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 advised the Chief-Information that he was wanting to serve the group, saying he was dedicated to establishing a robust working relationship with the three officers he could be main. 

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

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his local likability led to a profitable bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering nearly 70 p.c of the vote within the May 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-Information. 

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

“I’m very excited, I am able to hit the bottom running. I've loads of concepts, and I positively have loads of drive,” Arredondo instructed the outlet this month.

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

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