Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas shooting to hitch City Council

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not instantly send officers into Robb Elementary Faculty 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 at the least 19 officers from breaking into the college because the gunman opened fireplace for at the very least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children weren't beneath an active risk, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Division of Public Safety, mentioned Friday. 

“From the benefit of hindsight where I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the precise determination. It was a improper choice. Period. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw mentioned at a news conference. “There have been plenty of officers to do what wanted to be accomplished, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted extra equipment and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In accordance 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 college. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered entry to hold out the assault. Nineteen college students and two teachers had been killed.

Arredondo was not present amongst legislation enforcement officials standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw did not explicitly name him.

Arredondo did not instantly return a request for comment by NBC News.

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

After working because the police captain on the United Unbiased Faculty District in Laredo, Texas, about 140 miles south of Uvalde, Arredondo returned to his hometown in April 2020, when he accepted the position of chief of police for the Uvalde college district, in response to the Uvalde Chief-News.

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

Arredondo informed the Chief-News that he was desirous to serve the neighborhood, saying he was dedicated to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he would be main. 

“We need to be sure that we are available wherever we are needed,” Arredondo told the newspaper.

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

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

“I’m very excited, I'm able to hit the ground running. I have 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, precisely one week after the Uvalde capturing.

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