Pete Arredondo, former Uvalde School police chief, was sworn into the Uvalde City Council on Tuesday, despite allegedly not responding to Texas Ranger requests for a follow-up interview following the Robb Elementary School shooting last week.
“Uvalde City Council members were sworn in today as per the City Charter. Out of respect for the families who buried their children today, and who are planning to bury their children in the next few days, no ceremony was held,” Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said Tuesday evening.
Arredondo, a former Uvalde PD officer, took over as the school district police chief in 2020 and was sworn in to the city council earlier this month.
DPS released a statement commending the district but said they are looking for more information from Arredondo.
“The Uvalde Police Department and Uvalde CISD Police have been cooperating with investigators,” according to the statement. “The chief of the Uvalde CISD Police provided an initial interview but has not responded to a request for a follow-up interview with the Texas Rangers that was made two days ago.”
Arredondo refuted those claims in an exclusive interview with CNN.
“I am in contact with DPS (the Department of Public Safety) every day,” he said. He did not elaborate on what he meant by “in contact.”
Arredondo took point as incident commander when Salvador Ramos opened fire at Robb Elementary School.
Ramos was in the building for over an hour and killed 19 students and two teachers. Under Arredondo’s direction, 19 officers allegedly staged in the hallway for over 50 minutes before breaching the classroom.
Arredondo held officers in the hallway because he thought “that there was no more threat to the children and that the subject was barricaded and that they had time to organize,” Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw said Friday.
Arredondo was mistaken in believing that this was a barricade situation and that they had time to wait for tactical equipment and keys. Many have criticized him for not doing more to protect them by immediately confronting the shooter, including the DPS director.
“Of course it was not the right decision. It was the wrong decision,” McCraw said of the choice to wait to enter the classroom.
Funeral services for the 21 children and adults killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting began on Tuesday.
