Texas.- Pete Arredondo, former police chief of the Uvalde school district in Texas, was charged and arrested for his actions during the police response to the 2022 school shooting in which a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers, the Uvalde County sheriff announced Thursday.
The indictment, which comes more than two years after the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School, is the first set of criminal charges stemming from the shooting that suggest failures in the police response as well as poor decision-making.
A second former officer who was also charged for his actions that day and who worked under Arredondo at the school’s Police Department was not in custody as of Thursday night.
Even before a grand jury began convening this year, the police response has been the subject of several investigations, including by the U.S. Department of Justice, a committee of the Texas Legislature and an investigator hired by the City of Ugalde.
Each found serious faults in the actions of the officers who responded to the school shooting.
Jesse Rizo, uncle of one of the victims and who was recently elected to the school board, welcomed the news of Thursday’s accusations.
“I hope this sends a message to the authorities that they cannot have immunity and allow people to be slaughtered. I also hope that this is the beginning and that other officers are also charged.”
The accusations were a significant development, particularly for Uvalde families who have sought justice.
Although a conviction is far from assured. In Parkland, Florida, a former sheriff’s deputy, Scot Peterson, who did not confront the gunman responsible for the 2018 massacre was charged with child neglect and other crimes and was ultimately found not guilty by a jury last year.
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