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

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

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Impartial School District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the school as the gunman opened fireplace for not less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children were not below an energetic threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Safety, said Friday. 

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

Based on McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic risk, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that might let him into the school. During this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to carry out the attack. Nineteen college students and two academics were killed.

Arredondo was not present among legislation enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw didn't explicitly identify him.

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

Because the community 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 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 Leader-Information.

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-News that he was desirous to serve the neighborhood, saying he was dedicated to establishing a robust working relationship with the three officers he can be leading. 

“We wish to make sure that we are available wherever we are needed,” Arredondo told the newspaper.

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

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 working. I've plenty of ideas, and I definitely have loads 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 taking pictures.

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