The Uvalde County School Board of Texas voted unanimously on Wednesday evening to remove Police Chief Pete Arredondo from his post. The decision comes three months after an 18-year-old gunman shot and killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School. Writing that various American media. He is the first cop to be fired for police action.
Last month, a Texas state parliament investigation committee released a report on the police’s actions. The findings therein were damning. For example, the security of the school building was not in order and many signals were missed that the shooter was planning a massacre.
Police officers were already there minutes after the 18-year-old gunman entered the school building. Then there was no intervention for at least 73 minutes. Once a Border Guard special unit entered the classroom, they eliminated the gunman almost immediately.
Also read: During police action in Uvalde, everything that could go wrong went wrong
Wednesday’s meeting was called off after the school board was pressured by the parents of deceased children to fire the police chief. After the announcement of the decision, several attendees applauded. One person repeatedly yelled “we’re not done yet”.
Arredondo himself was not present at the meeting, because he did not feel safe because of death threats. His attorney issued a 17-page statement in his stead. It said that Arredondo is a “courageous officer who, along with all the other law enforcement officers who came to the scene, should be celebrated for the lives saved, rather than burdened for those they couldn’t reach in time.”