[ad_1]
According to a sweeping critique of the tactical response to the May massacre, a police officer armed with a rifle watched as the gunman in the Uvalde school massacre walked to campus, but did not fire while waiting for permission from his supervisor to fire.
Some of the 21 victims at Rob Elementary School, including 19 children, “could have been saved” if police officers waited more than an hour before breaking into a fourth-grade classroom on May 24 at Texas State University. Found the case of active shooters.
The report is another scathing assessment of how police have failed to seize a potentially life-saving opportunity since the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which became the deadliest school shooting in the United States.
“A reasonable officer would consider this a positive situation and have a plan in place to address the suspect,” read the report released by the university’s Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Program.
The authors of the 26-page report said their findings were based on video taken from schools, police body cameras, testimony from officers at the scene and statements from investigators.
– There did not appear to be any officers waiting in the hallway during the shooting to check that the classroom doors were locked. The Texas state police chief also accused officers at the scene of not checking the door.
– These officers have “weapons (including rifles), body armor (which may or may not be rated to stop rifle bullets), training and backup. Victims in the classroom don’t have these.”
– When the police finally entered the classroom at 12.50pm – more than an hour after the shooting began – they were no better equipped to face the shooter than they were at the time.
— There never appears to be an “effective incident command” established among the multiple law enforcement agencies that responded to the shooting.
The report follows testimony last month by Colonel Steven McGraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, who told the state Senate that the police response was a “total failure.”
He specifically blamed Chief Pete Arredondo, saying, as the commander on the scene, the Uwald School police chief made a “terrible decision” and prevented officers from confronting the gunman earlier.
Mr. Arredondo tried to defend his actions, telling the Texas Tribune that he did not believe he was the commander in charge of the operation and that he believed someone else had taken control of the law enforcement response.
He said he didn’t have police or a campus radio, but he used his cell phone to call for tactical gear, snipers and classroom keys.
According to the report released Wednesday, Mr Arredondo and another Uvalde police officer spent 13 minutes in the school hallway during the shooting discussing tactical options, whether to use snipers and how to gain access to classroom windows.
“They also discussed who had the keys, the test keys, the likelihood that the door would be locked, and whether the child and teacher died or died,” the report reads.
At the scene of the Uwald School massacre, Mr McGraw said police had enough police and firepower to stop the gunman three minutes after he entered the building, and if they bothered, they would find the door to the classroom where he was hiding was not there. locked. Check it out.
A lawyer for Arredondo and a spokesman for the Uvalde City Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Arredondo has taken a leave of absence from his job at the Uvalde Unified Independent School District and resigned as city councillor last week.
Public leaders, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, initially praised the Uwald police response. Mr Abbott said police responded quickly and rushed to the gunfire with “amazing courage” to eliminate the killer, saving lives. He later said he had been misled.
[ad_2]
Source link