The Uvalde Independent School District’s board may soon move to terminate embattled school district Police Chief Peter Arredondo at a special board meeting this Saturday, per AP News.
Superintendent Hal Harrell made the announcement Monday. It comes in the wake of a series of heated school board meetings, where angry and grieving Uvalde residents criticized school officials for failing to maintain basic security at Robb Elementary School.
Upset parents from the district demanded the school board fire Arredondo in light of his alleged failures the day of the shooting, detailed in the 77-page Texas House Investigative Committee preliminary report released on Sunday.
“If he’s not fired by noon tomorrow, I want your resignation and every single one of these board members because you don’t give a damn about us or our children,” said Brett Cross, uncle of 10-year-old Uvalde victim Uziyah Garcia, addressing Superintendent Hall at a school board meeting on Monday.
As reported in The Dallas Express, Arredondo was one of the first law enforcement officers of significant rank to arrive at the scene of the shooting.
According to the Texas House report, he decided to wait over an hour before ordering officers to engage the alleged shooter in a classroom. He was subsequently placed on leave by the school board on June 22.
Arredondo claimed he did not know he was acting commander on the scene. He has also stated that he believed he was dealing with an armed, barricaded suspect rather than an active shooter.
Public backlash has also resulted in a swift end to Arredondo’s potential political career in Uvalde following his resignation last Tuesday from his seat on the Uvalde City Council, The Dallas Express reported.
The upcoming meeting on Saturday will involve the school board’s lawyer, who will help the board navigate the legality of firing Arredondo outright, which could be tricky since he is a “contract employee who could not be fired at will,” according to AP News.