Uvalde school shooting: Families outraged by findings from independent investigation
TEXAS - The families of the victims from the Robb Elementary School shooting are outraged by the new findings from an independent investigator.
An Austin-area investigator revealed the Uvalde Police Department did not commit any wrongdoing or violate any policy in their response to the mass shooting.
The Uvalde City Council spent $100,000 on this investigation. It was supposed to take 60 to 90 days. After 19 months, it was finally completed and released on Thursday afternoon. The report was met with anger.
"There weren’t any solutions for this," Retired Austin Police Detective Jesse Prado said.
Prado concluded, after tracing the steps of the Uvalde police officers who responded to the Robb Elementary School shooting on May 24, 2022, that the department did not commit any wrong doing or violate any policy during their response.
"Policy doesn’t mean anything when there are lives at risk and there were children’s lives at risk and that’s what should have been considered," a Uvalde community member said.
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Prado placed blame on communication problems, not having the right keys on hand, lack of equipment and training, and difficulty controlling the crowd of family members outside the school.
The victim’s family members at the meeting snapped back and shared their disgust with his findings.
"You said that they did it in good faith. You call that good faith? They stood there 77 minutes waiting, after they got the call that kids were still alive in there," Veronica Mata said.
The families of the victims and other community members are calling for accountability.
"Do what’s right, terminate them, change policy," Kimberly Mata-Rubio said.
City Council members agreed and called Prado’s report "a disgrace."
"I am insulted, Mr. Prado, these families are insulted by your comments," Uvalde City Council District 2 representative Hector Luevano said.
"I’m very, very upset with how this went down today. I am sorry, I apologize," Uvalde City Council District 5 representative Ernest W. King III said.
The Uvalde police chief told families he would be relying on this report to make any decisions. The city will hold a regular meeting next Tuesday and will discuss the report’s findings.