The former Uvalde, Texas, school police chief made his first court appearance on charges accusing him of failing to take adequate measures during the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting
AUSTIN, Texas — The former Uvalde, Texas school police chief made his first court appearance Monday on charges that accuse him of failing to take adequate measures during the shooting at Robb Elementary School In 2022, 19 children and two teachers were killed.
Pete Arredondo has pleaded not guilty to several counts of child endangerment and abandonment. He was indicted earlier this year along with Adrian Gonzales, another former Uvalde school police officer, who faces similar charges and pleaded not guilty during a court hearing in July.
Family members of some of the victims attended the procedural hearing in Uvalde. Another court hearing was scheduled for later this year.
Lawyers for Arredondo filed a motion to dismiss the indictmentarguing that the former manager should not be held responsible for the actions he did not take that day. The judge did not rule on the motion Monday.
The indictment alleges Arredondo failed to follow his active shooter training and made critical decisions that slowed police response while the gunman “chased” victims.
Arredondo has said that he has been ” scapegoat ” for his role in law enforcement response and should not have been considered the lead commander.
Nearly 400 officers from federal, state and local agencies waited more than 70 minutes before confronting the gunman at Robb Elementary. Several state and federal investigations have pointed to failures in communication, leadership and training for the law enforcement response.
A federal review from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility released Thursday found similar breakdowns in communication and command among Border Patrol agents.
The former school police chief and Gonzalez, who was charged with 29 similar counts of intimidation and abandonment, are the only two officers facing criminal charges.
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Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on classified issues.