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

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

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

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children were not underneath an lively threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, said Friday. 

“From the benefit of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, after all, it was not the appropriate decision. It was a incorrect choice. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a information conference. “There were plenty of officers to do what needed to be carried out, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed more gear and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In response to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic threat, so as an alternative of sending officers in, he spent time finding keys that may let him into the varsity. Throughout this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the attack. Nineteen students and two academics were killed.

Arredondo was not present among law enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly name him.

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

As the group demands 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 because the police captain at the United Impartial School 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 faculty district, in line with the Uvalde Chief-News.

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

Arredondo informed the Chief-Information that he was wanting to serve the group, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he can be main. 

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

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a successful bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering practically 70 percent 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 need,” the newspaper stated. 

“I’m very excited, I am ready to hit the bottom working. I've loads of concepts, and I positively have plenty of drive,” Arredondo informed the outlet this month.

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

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