The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police chief, Pete Arredondo, skipped his first meeting as a member of the city council Tuesday, a special meeting called to discuss the aftermath of the massacre at the Robb Elementary School, which was Arredondo’s responsibility to protect, Business Insider reports.
Saying he would comment on Arrendondo’s absence, Mayor Don McLaughlin said the council “wanted facts and answers like everybody else,” but “Pete Arredondo was elected by the people in his district. It is up to his district and his people and Mr. Arredondo to what he wants to do.”
Arrendondo, and law enforcement in general, have been harshly criticized for its inept response to the attack at the elementary school that allowed the shooter to remain in the classroom with children and teachers for more than 80 minutes before a federal ATF assault team breached the door. Various reports have said that children were killed during that time, with one father saying his wounded son bled out as police waited to stop the gunman.
Arrendondo’s position as school’s police chief is independent from his election on the city council, to which he was elected in a vote held in April. He was sworn in during a secret ceremony last week, after the mayor said he would hold off on the ceremony while the funerals for those killed in the school massacre were being buried.