Texas DPS: Uvalde school police chief not cooperating with investigation

Jun 01, 2022

Shannon Longworth Reporter

By Shannon Longworth (Reporter), Ben Burke (Producer/Editor)

A spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) said the department is running into an issue with its investigation into last week’s elementary school shooting: the Uvalde school police chief is not responding. DPS has said Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) Police Chief Pete Arredondo was the commander of the school shooting scene while it happened.

“Uvalde and Uvalde CISD departments have been cooperating with investigators,” DPS Chief Communications Officer Travis Considine said Tuesday, according to this tweet from Austin TV reporter Tony Plohetski. “The chief of the CISD did an initial interview but has not responded to a request for a followup interview that was made two days ago.”

As of early Wednesday morning, Arredondo had also not responded to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Last week, DPS Director Steve McCraw said Arredondo made the “wrong decision” when assessing the shooting situation. This led to a lengthy delay in the police response.

“The on-scene commander considered a barricaded subject and that was time and there were no more children at risk,” McCraw said Friday. “Based upon the information we have the word children in that classroom that were at risk and it was, in fact, still an active shooter situation and not a barricaded subject.”

As Arredondo appeared to be avoiding requests from DPS and media outlets Tuesday, he was sworn into the Uvalde city council privately. He won the seat last month, 17 days before the shooting happened.

“Out of respect for the families who buried their children today, and who are planning to bury their children in the next few days, no ceremony was held,” Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said Tuesday, according to San Antonio TV station KENS 5. “Our parents deserve answers and I trust the Texas Department of Public Safety/Texas Rangers will leave no stone unturned.”

While the Uvalde school police chief is not responding to investigation requests, DPS did release more details on the unlocked door the shooter used to enter the school. DPS initially said a teacher had propped the door.

According to Considine, the teacher used a rock to prop the door open, but then removed the rock and closed the door when she realized there was a shooter on campus. Despite this, the door did not lock.

“We did verify she closed the door. The door did not lock.” Considine said. “We know that much and now investigators are looking into why it did not lock.”

Shannon Longworth: The investigation into last week’s mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school continues — but State Police are running into an issue.
The school district’s police chief does NOT seem to be cooperating.
As of today — Pete Arredondo has not responded to the Texas Department of Public Safety requests for two days.
This — despite *other *city and district police officers sitting down for interviews and providing statements.
Last week — the head of the D-P-S said Arredondo made the wrong decision when assessing the situation.
This led to a lengthy delay in the police response to the shooting.
Steven McCraw | Director, Texas Department of Public Safety: “Again, you know the on-seen commander considered a barricaded subject and that was time and there were no more children at risk. Obviously, obviously, you know, based upon the information we have the word children in that classroom that were at risk and it was, in fact, still an active shooter situation and not a barricaded subject.”
Shannon Longworth: While Arredondo hasn’t responded to the D-P-S — he was sworn into his new spot on the Uvalde city council in a private ceremony Tuesday.
Arredondo won a seat on the council 17 days before the shooting.