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Uvalde CISD police chief Pete Arredondo resigns from Uvalde City Council position

By Elizabeth Evans
Updated  July 2, 2022 3:06pm CDT
Uvalde, Texas School Shooting
FOX 7 Austin

UVALDE, Texas - Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo has resigned from his Uvalde City Council position in the wake of the May 24 school shooting at Robb Elementary.

Arredondo told the Uvalde Leader-News on Friday of his resignation and the Mayor and City Secretary later received his resignation letter via email.

In the letter dated July 1, Arredondo says that "it is in the best interest of the community to step down as a member of the City Council for District 3 to minimize further distractions."

Arredondo had been elected to the District 3 council position on May 7 and had been sworn in on May 30, just six days after the shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers, says the Uvalde Leader-News. Since he was sworn in, he had missed two consecutive council meetings, including one on Thursday where family members of the victims demanded details on the investigation from the city. According to the city's charter, if he missed a third consecutive meeting, the city council could vacate his seat.

Arredondo has also been on administrative leave from his Uvalde CISD position since June 22, one day after Texas DPS director Steve McCraw's testimony naming him as the on-site commander and criticizing the police response.

Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw says Uvalde school doors were shut, not locked

DPS Director Steve McCraw testified before a committee about the shooting in Uvalde. He testified about the external doors at Robb Elementary School and how the gunman was able to gain entry.

In a state Senate hearing June 21, McCraw said "The only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from entering Room 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children" and "Obviously, not enough training was done in this situation, plain and simple. Because terrible decisions were made by the on-site commander."

RELATED COVERAGE:

Uvalde CISD police chief shares account of mass shooting with Texas Tribune

Uvalde School Police Chief Pete Arredondo has been facing strong criticism from many people following the delayed police response to the massacre at Robb Elementary.

In an interview with the Texas Tribune in early June, Arredondo maintained that he was not the incident commander in charge and "insists he took the steps he thought would best protect lives at his hometown school."

According to the Texas Tribune, it is unclear if Arredondo intends to also resign as Uvalde CISD's police chief.