Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas capturing to join Metropolis 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 in the past after working on a platform of communication and outreach to the community. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent Faculty District, stopped no less than 19 officers from breaking into the school as the gunman opened fireplace for no less than an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the youngsters were not under an energetic threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Security, mentioned Friday. 

“From the benefit of hindsight where I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the suitable decision. It was a fallacious determination. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a information conference. “There were loads of officers to do what needed to be finished, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he needed extra equipment and more officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In keeping with McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no lively risk, so instead of sending officers in, he spent time finding keys that would let him into the school. During this time, nonetheless, the shooter had unencumbered access to hold out the assault. Nineteen students and two academics have been killed.

Arredondo was not current amongst law enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly title him.

Arredondo didn't immediately return a request for remark by NBC News.

As the community demands answers and pieces together a shaky and conflicting timeline of events, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working as the police captain at the United Impartial College 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 keeping with the Uvalde Leader-News.

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

Arredondo instructed the Leader-News that he was eager to serve the group, saying he was dedicated to establishing a strong working relationship with the three officers he can be leading. 

“We need to be certain that we can be found wherever we're wanted,” Arredondo advised the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his native likability led to a profitable bid for a Metropolis Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering almost 70 percent of the vote within the Could 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-News. 

The chief campaigned, largely door-to-door, on communication and outreach “to these in need,” the newspaper said. 

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

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

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