Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas taking pictures to hitch Metropolis Council

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

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent Faculty District, stopped a minimum of 19 officers from breaking into the varsity because the gunman opened hearth for no less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the kids weren't underneath an active threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, stated Friday. 

“From the good thing about hindsight where I’m sitting now, of course, it was not the proper resolution. It was a improper resolution. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a information conference. “There were plenty of officers to do what needed to be accomplished, 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 response to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no active risk, so as a substitute of sending officers in, he spent time discovering keys that might let him into the college. During this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the assault. Nineteen students and two lecturers were killed.

Arredondo was not current amongst regulation enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw didn't explicitly name him.

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

Because the neighborhood calls for answers and items together a shaky and conflicting timeline of events, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working because the police captain on the United Independent College 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 college district, in line with the Uvalde Chief-News.

The previous 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 told the Chief-Information that he was eager to serve the neighborhood, saying he was committed to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he would be main. 

“We wish to be certain that we are available wherever we're needed,” Arredondo told 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 practically 70 % of the vote in the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-Information. 

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

“I’m very excited, I'm able to hit the bottom operating. I've loads of ideas, and I positively have loads 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 News Digital, primarily based in Chicago.