Join The Transient, The Texas Tribune’s each day e-newsletter that retains readers on top of things on essentially the most important Texas information.
Former Uvalde colleges police Chief Pete Arredondo requested a state district court docket on Friday to quash ten felony fees of kid endangerment for his response to the 2022 Robb Elementary College taking pictures.
Arredondo is one in every of two regulation enforcement officers who face felony fees for his or her response to Texas’ deadliest college taking pictures, which left nineteen kids and two academics useless on Could 22, 2022. An indictment handed down in June by a Uvalde County grand jury known as Arredondo the incident commander and accused him of inflicting imminent hazard to 10 kids by delaying regulation enforcement’s response to the energetic shooter and never responding as skilled.
Of their movement to toss out the indictment, Arredondo’s legal professionals say college districts and their workers don’t have an obligation to guard college students from third-party threats. The legal professionals additionally level out that the kids have been already in peril when Arredondo responded.
“The indictment does not allege that Mr. Arredondo engaged in any conduct that placed a child in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment,” the submitting states. “To the contrary, the language in the indictment itself makes clear that when Mr. Arredondo responded as part of his official duties, an active shooter incident was already in progress.”
Arredondo mentioned quickly after the taking pictures that he didn’t assume he was the incident commander and that he didn’t give any orders. Almost 400 native, state and federal regulation enforcement officers descended upon the varsity however did not act decisively, as a substitute ready for greater than an hour to confront the gunman.
Border Patrol brokers finally determined to breach the classroom and killed the shooter.
For the reason that college taking pictures, households of Uvalde victims have known as on native and state elected officers to carry officers accountable for his or her failures in management. Many mentioned they have been disillusioned that the grand jury indicted solely two officers.
Along with Arredondo, former district officer Adrian Gonzales was indicted on 29 counts of kid endangerment. Gonzales has additionally denied violating college district coverage or state regulation. Each officers have been launched from Uvalde County Jail on bond.
Uvalde District Lawyer Christina Mitchell didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
As The Texas Tribune’s signature occasion of the 12 months, The Texas Tribune Pageant brings Texans nearer to politics, coverage and the day’s information from Texas and past. Browse on-demand recordings and make amends for the most important headlines from Pageant occasions on the Tribune’s Pageant information web page.
