Former Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pedro ‘Pete’ Arredondo has been photographed in an orange jumpsuit following his indictment in a school massacre that left 21 dead.
Arredondo, 64, appeared expressionless as he posed for his first mugshot following charges over his botched response to the Robb Elementary School massacre.
The former police chief faces 10 counts of child endangerment, a state jail felony, according to records released today.
A total of 21 people (19 fourth graders and two teachers) were killed when gunman Salvador Ramos, 18, opened fire on May 24, 2022.
Police were criticized for their chaotic reaction to the massacre, after it emerged that no one attempted to confront Ramos until 77 minutes after he began his rampage.
Former Uvalde School Police Chief Pedro ‘Pete’ Arredondo photographed in an orange jumpsuit after being charged for his botched response to a school massacre on May 24, 2022.
Arredondo (left) and school police officer Adrian Gonzales (right) have been charged with child endangerment for their slow response to the Robb Elementary School shooting that left 21 dead.
Shooter Salvador Ramos, 18, shot dead 19 schoolchildren and two teachers before he was eventually overpowered and shot dead by police after a rampage that lasted more than an hour.
Uvalde Unified School District Police Chief Arredondo was in charge of the massive law enforcement response that day, which saw at least 380 officers from multiple local, state and federal agencies descend on the school.
The indictment against him alleges that he endangered children’s lives by not responding as trained to an active shooter.
It identifies several fatal errors, including failing to identify the threat as an active shooter even after being told a teacher had been shot and children were injured.
The document, released by the Uvalde County district clerk on Friday, says Arredondo instead took several actions, including calling in a SWAT team and issuing evacuation orders, that delayed officers from confronting the gunman as he continued his spree. murders.
The former police chief did not even provide keys or intrusion tools in a timely manner to allow officers to enter the classroom where the massacre was occurring, the indictment claims.
Arredondo has admitted that he decided not to try to neutralize Ramos in an attempt to save the lives of other children.
But the action contradicted his department’s active shooter protocols and essentially left students trapped in the classroom with the gunman.
Arredondo was immediately placed on administrative leave and fired shortly after.
A Justice Department investigation found that leadership failures resulted in delays that may have exacerbated the fatalities.
The report stated that police acted “without urgency” in establishing a command center, creating confusion over who was in charge.
Arredondo discarded his radios upon arrival, deeming them unnecessary, the report said.
A key mistake was believing the shooter was barricaded or contained, even when he continued shooting, killing more children and wounding an officer.
Salvador Ramos killed 19 children and two teachers during the attack on May 24, 2022
Footage showing Peter Arredondo directing armed officers inside Uvalde Elementary School
An investigation conducted for the city of Uvalde also revealed that officers wanted to storm the classroom as soon as the bulletproof shields arrived, but their boss stopped them.
Ramos was eventually shot and killed by gunmen from the U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit who overlooked other officers in the hallway.
The criminal charges against the former police officer are the first in connection with what was the deadliest school shooting in Texas history.
Arredondo turned himself in to the Uvalde County Jail on Thursday and posted $10,000 bail.
Adrian Gonzales, a school police officer, was also charged for his response to the incident.
He and Arredondo were among the first police officers to arrive at the scene.
His attorney, Nico LaHood, told KSAT.com that he planned to turn himself in to authorities.
Gonzales, who was one of the first officers on the scene, turned himself in Friday, Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco told DailyMail.com. He has since posted bail.
He faces 29 counts of child abandonment and endangerment, according to his indictment.
Hood added: ‘Mr. Gonzales’ position is that he did not violate school district policy or state law. The application of this statute to law enforcement in these circumstances is unprecedented in the state of Texas. It will take time to evaluate these allegations and the underlying facts.’
Democratic state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, said in a statement: “What happened in Uvalde two years ago was unthinkable. Nearly 400 officers failed to confront a teenager with an AR-15 for 77 agonizing minutes, while children and teachers endured terror as heavily armed officers crowded the hallways and outside the building.
‘The gross incompetence of the Texas Department of Public Safety and its cowardice will always be a stain on this tragedy. The main law enforcement agency in the state of Texas must answer for serious errors in judgment and for lying to the public every day about how the massacre unfolded.
The police force was heavily criticized in the wake of the shooting, after it emerged that no one attempted to confront Ramos until 77 minutes after he began his rampage.
‘From falsely blaming a teacher for leaving a door open to blaming the entire catastrophe on an ignorant officer, the Texas Department of Public Safety has done nothing in Uvalde but cover up its abject failure.
‘We must get to the core of the cover-up and find the truth, so this never happens again. Every officer who resigned that day must be held accountable, from Pete Arredondo to (State Police Chief) Steve McCraw. “We cannot rest until we have justice.”
Gutiérrez had previously expressed outrage that Arredondo and Gonzales are the only police officers charged over the failures.
“If they’re going to charge those two officers, they need to charge all 13 DPS officers in that hallway,” Gutierrez told the San Antonio Express News. “That’s very disturbing to me.”
District Attorney Christina Mitchell revealed in January that she had convened a grand jury to consider possible charges.
As part of the fact-finding mission, the 12 jurors toured the now-closed school for about an hour.
The entire police force was restructured after the massacre.
But Don McLaughlin Jr, who was mayor at the time of the shooting, suggested the role of other agencies involved that day had been “overlooked.”
