Cops charged in Uvalde indictment

Grand jury indicts 2 ex-officers over inaction during Uvalde shooting

UVALDE — A grand jury has indicted two ex-officers who were present during the Robb Elementary School shooting: Pete Arredondo and Adrian Gonzales. Arredondo was jailed Thursday on charges of injury to a child by omission, carrying up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The indictments are the culmination of a six-month grand jury investigation into the botched police response, which left 19 children and two teachers dead.

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2022/07/07/uvalde-grand-jury-hearing-elementary-school-shooting-texas-district-attorney-christini-mitchell/9965250002/

Two officials with knowledge of the investigation revealed that the grand jury focused on the roles of law enforcement officers in the shooting. The identities of those indicted are being withheld until they are taken into custody.

Arredondo, the Uvalde school district police chief at the time of the shooting, has been at the center of criticism for his failed leadership. He was jailed Thursday afternoon, with family members and parents of victims present.

The charges come after intense pressure from victims' families and a damning DOJ report outlining "cascading failures" and "failed leadership, training, and policies."

"As a consequence of failed leadership, training, and policies, 33 students and three of their teachers — many of whom had been shot — were trapped in a room with an active shooter for over an hour as law enforcement officials remained outside," the report concluded.

The indictments shatter the initial false narrative of police heroism, with officials first claiming that more children would have died without the officers' actions. This narrative was dismantled by American-Statesman and KVUE-TV obtaining a 77-minute video of the incident, revealing the breakdown in response.