Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez announced his resignation from the police force on Tuesday, citing new career opportunities and family commitments as his reason for leaving.
Assistant Chief of Police Homer Delgado will serve as the interim chief following Rodriguez’s final day, which he identified during a March 12 meeting with department staff as April 6.
Rodriguez told The Uvalde Leader-News that he “was not forced, asked or pressured by anyone in the city or the community to make the decision,” adding that he believes this choice “was best for me and my family.”
“I want to express my deepest appreciation to all of my colleagues and team members for their unwavering support, professionalism, and dedication to our mission of serving and protecting the community,” he wrote in his resignation letter, per The Uvalde Leader-News.
“It has been a privilege to work alongside such talented and committed individuals, and I will miss our collaborations and camaraderie dearly.”
Rodriguez did not address the May 2022 school shooting at Robb Elementary, which left 19 students and two teachers dead. On the day of the shooting, Rodriguez was on a scheduled vacation in Arizona, per the Associated Press.
Uvalde Mayor Cody Smith released an unsigned statement about the resignation, writing that the city will “wish him the best as he pursues new career opportunities.”
“Nothing is more important than the safety of our community, and we look forward to working together to identify the best candidate to serve the people of Uvalde,” added the mayor, according to The Texas Tribune.
Rodriguez’s resignation comes on the heels of an independent report that cleared all police officers of any wrongdoing during the 2022 shooting, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Jesse Prado, a retired Austin police detective, conducted the investigation and stated in his report that the officers acted in “good faith” during the incident and showed “immeasurable strength” by not returning fire into a darkened classroom, as reported by CBS News.
However, Uvalde parents were present during a presentation and open hearing about the report, with many parents speaking out about their disapproval of the findings.
Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose daughter Lexi died during the shooting, criticized the findings and said that the officers chose to put their lives ahead of the children.
“They chose their lives over the lives of children and teachers, and there’s no policy change [that] will eliminate their fear,” she said, as reported by DX.
This independent report contradicts some of the findings from a “Critical Incident Review” (CIR) released by the U.S. Department of Justice, which found that there were “cascading failures of leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy, and training” throughout the day of the shooting, as reported by DX.
The CIR stated that large numbers of additional law enforcement arrived on the scene, which resulted in a lack of “basic structure for establishing a unified command to provide the necessary awareness and direction.”
Additionally, the DOJ found that the incident included “several stimuli that should have prompted leadership to direct a team to enter the classrooms and engage the subject.”
“Any one of these events should have driven the law enforcement response to take steps to immediately stop the killing per the active shooter protocols and guidance described,” wrote the DOJ in the CIR.
