Uvalde Chief Fired

From Independent:

“Uvalde police chief fired months after overseeing disastrous response to school massacre”

The school board of Uvalde, Texas, voted unanimously on Wednesday to fire school police chief Pete Arredondo, following the disastrous police response to a mass shooting on campus in May. The decision was met with cheers from assembled community members at a school board meeting on Wednesday evening. On 24 May, the chief helped oversee the chaotic law enforcement response to the campus shooting where 21 people were killed, including 19 students, the second worst school shooting in US history. Mr Arredondo, who state officials said was the incident commander during the response, is the first of potentially many officers to be fired for the police lapses during the shooting. Texas lawmakers said in a July report the Uvalde massacre was worsened by a series of “systemic failures” and “egregious” decisions by police.

State officials have called Mr Arredondo’s leadership in particular an “abject failure”, pointing to how a group of heavily armed officers waited more than an hour before entering a classroom and killing gunman Salvador Ramos. The Independent has contacted Mr Arredondo for comment. The police officer was not present at the school board meeting where the decision was made. In a statement earlier in the day, his attorney called the process a public “lynching” and an “illegal charade strategically designed to infringe on Chief Arredondo’s ability to speak freely to clear his name.” The former chief also denied being incident commander during the shooting, said he had concerns for his safety at the meeting, and blasted school officials for what he claimed was a breach of the formal process for ending his employment. He faulted school officials for allegedly ignoring his previous recommendations for security upgrades before the shooting, and said other law enforcement officials should’ve assumed command because the shooting started off campus at the gunman’s home, where he wounded his grandmother. “The incident command allegations are patently false and are intended to distract and shift blame,” Mr Arredondo’s attorney said in his statement. The Independent has contacted the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District for comment. Community members have been calling for Mr Arredondo’s firing for months since the massacre. “If law enforcement’s job is to protect and serve, why didn’t they protect and serve my friends?” a girl named Kaitlin Gonzalez told school board members during a public comment session at the Wednesday meeting. “Turn in your badge and step down,” she added, referring to Mr Arredondo. “You don’t deserve to wear one.” The chief had been on unpaid administrative leave from the school police department since 22 June, and resigned his position on the city council in early July. A decision by the council regarding Mr Arredondo’s contract had been on the school board’s agenda since July, but was postponed twice at the request of the chief’s attorney. He can appeal his termination. State and federal officials continue to investigate the law enforcement response to the shooting.

This week, Uvalde families filed a $27bn lawsuit against the Uvalde school district, multiple law enforcement agencies, a gun store, and a gunmaker tied to the shooting.

^ It is clear Arredondo cared more about protecting his own life than that of any child in that school. A Police Officer or a Police Chief is expected to do just the opposite – “To Serve and to Protect.” There was no protection given to those 19 Students and 2 Teachers.

I’m sure he will fight his firing because he sees only greatness in himself when the whole world sees his true colors: a self-preserving person unable or unwilling to protect others.

 Arredondo should NEVER be allowed to hold any position of Authority ever again. He should NEVER be allowed to be a Police Chief, a Police Officer or even a Security Guard. If I saw him working security of any kind I would immediately leave knowing that he would put himself first if another shooting happened. Many people just don’t have what it takes to be a Police Officer (I’m not sure I do, but at least I know that and am not trying to Protect anyone.) Clearly Arredondo is one of those people – although he decided to work in the Police Force despite his shortcomings. He should just keep himself hidden from public life from now on. ^

https://www.yahoo.com/news/uvalde-police-chief-fired-months-002752753.html