Texas DPS director announces retirement at trooper graduation
AUSTIN, Texas - Texas DPS director Steve McCraw has announced that he is stepping down from his position at Friday's trooper graduation ceremony.
101 state trooper recruits officially graduated Friday morning after completing 30 weeks of intense training. At a ceremony at Great Hills Baptist Church, badges were handed out, and the troopers received a final salute from McCraw.
The event also became a surprise farewell when McCraw paused during his speech to address a staff member.
"Push the button, and I'm gonna send out an email, because the Governor has been very gracious and has authorized, approved, my retirement at the end of the year," said McCraw.
When the graduation ceremony was over, McCraw said it was his decision to hang up his hat after 15 years of being the top cop in Texas.
"Well, actually, I was wanting to go in 2023. There are a couple of things I needed to address and a couple of milestones I wanted to achieve before I did so," said McCraw.
Addressing recruitment and the construction of a new trooper memorial were among the projects he wanted to complete. Gov. Greg Abbott, who was also at the graduation, also noted McCraw has accomplished much more, such as managing the long-running border initiative Operation Lone Star.
"His service has truly made Texas a safer place. Help respond to challenges we've had in Austin, Texas whenever Austin defunded their police, when we saw the riots on campuses and things like that, he's still nimble and flexible to be able to so quickly respond to public safety challenges," said Abbott.
The response to the May 2022 mass shooting in Uvalde is also part of McCraw’s record. Troopers who arrived at the scene did not take control of the scene. The delay in response allowed the gunman to remain inside Robb Elementary for more than an hour, killing 19 children and two teachers.
The command failure then is why State Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio), whose district includes Uvalde, had a strong response to McCraw’s retirement announcement.
"You know, couldn't have come sooner, Rudy. I mean, at the end of the day, I mean, I'm not happy with the retirement. It should have been a resignation. It should have been a call from this governor to have him resign," said Gutierrez.
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Gutierrez issued a written statement regarding McCraw's retirement after he spoke to several family members who lost children in the Robb Elementary shooting.
"They're all of the same mindset. It should have happened a long time ago," Gutierrez told FOX 7 Austin.
Calls for his resignation were addressed by McCraw. In 2022, he said he would step down if DPS as an institution failed the Uvalde families. To date, only two local police officers have been indicted. A trooper who was fired by McCraw was recently reinstated after he was cleared.
"I was going to…I was going to stick around until that, the grand jury had fully reviewed the actions of all responding officers and did so and, and make my decisions based upon the evidence and also the feedback that I got from the district attorney and did so," said McCraw.
Crisis protocol prevents state troopers from immediately taking over a local crime scene.
"Expecting like a four-year trooper to come in and take over for a chief of police and an acting chief of police and a detective, okay. And others in the hallway is not realistic to begin with. If we're first on the scene, we need to own it and take responsibility for it," said McCraw, explaining his support for the protocol.
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In the Uvalde situation, local authorities incorrectly determined the gunman was barricaded in a classroom, and it was no longer an active shooter situation. McCraw acknowledged the assessment mistake made by the local officials who were inside the school.
"The wheels should never be off. The doctrine is very clear and compelling. Identify, isolate and neutralize the threat. Period," said McCraw.
That did not happen.
"And every one of these cops waited, and more children died because of their failure. Who knows how many kids would have lived. That's going to be the question that will burn in the hearts and minds of these officers for the rest of their lives. But there should be accountability. There should be transparency. But Greg Abbott never wanted any accountability, and he's giving us no transparency," said Gutierrez.
Providing a clear accounting of what happened is a big reason why some much bitterness remains. McCraw’s first assessment of what happened in Uvalde turned out to be based on inaccurate information. Since then, he has tried to send a clear message about what should be done.
"If you misidentify at the beginning, with the first arriving officers misidentifying it as a barricaded subject, the doctrine changes entirely and the complexity changes entirely in that regard. And you have all the time in a world. Well, and there's an active shooter situation. You don't have the time. You have to act now, not later. And if it's just one single officer, one single trooper, one special agent one, you immediately engage. You'll wait for two more, three more, four more, a shield, weapons, a SWAT team. You immediately engage. That's the doctrine post Columbine," said McCraw.
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Specialized active shooter response training is provided in San Marcos. Simulations are also practiced by those who manage the school marshal and guardian programs. McCraw says he remains shocked those lessons were not applied in Uvalde.
"I can tell you, one of the other failures that I'm upset with is the failure to detect it before it happened," said McCraw.
Gutierrez is also expecting change.
"The message going forward better be, when this thing ever happens again, because it will happen again, because loose Republican gun laws have caused this. The message is that they better go off and train their people properly on active shooters," said Gutierrez.
Abbott did not indicate Friday who he would select as McCraw's replacement. DPS insiders told FOX 7 Austin that Freeman Martin, senior deputy director, is a leading candidate for the job.