Uvalde ISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo to resign from city council

UVALDE, Texas (KWTX) - Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde ISD Police Chief, has announced he will resign from the Uvalde city council, according to the Uvalde News Leader.

Arredondo resigns following the calls for him to step down amid questions about how he responded to the massacre at the Uvalde Elementary where 19 students and 2 teachers were killed.

“After much consideration, I regret to inform those who voted for me that I have decided to step down as a member of the city council for District 3. The mayor, the city council, and the city staff must continue to move forward without distractions. I feel this is the best decision for Uvalde,” Arredondo said to the newspaper.

According to the Uvalde News Leader, The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District placed Arredondo, the highest paid law enforcement official in Uvalde County, on administrative leave on June 22.

Uvalde CISD Superintendent Hal Harrell announced the decision, a day after the top law enforcement officer in the state of Texas described the response to the massacre as an “abject failure.”

“Today, I am still without details of the investigation being conducted by various agencies. Because of the lack of clarity that remains and the unknown timing of when I will receive the results of the investigations, I have made the decision to place Chief Arredondo on administrative leave effective (June 22),” Harrell said.

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told a state Senate committee that police could have stopped the shooter at Robb Elementary School three minutes after arriving were it not for the indecisiveness of the on-scene commander, who “placed the lives of officers before those of children.”

McCraw said Arredondo was “antithetical” to two decades of police training since the Columbine High School massacre, which dictates that officers confront active shooters as quickly as possible.

“The officers had weapons; the children had none,” McCraw said. “The officers had body armor; the children had none. The officers had training; the subject had none. One hour, 14 minutes and 8 seconds. That’s how long children waited, and the teachers waited, in Room 111 to be rescued.”

There is no mention on if Arredondo will resign from the school district.