Former Uvalde schools police chief makes first court appearance since indictment

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The former Uvalde, Texas, schools police chief made his first court appearance on Monday for his role in the heavily scrutinized law enforcement response to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting.

Pete Arredondo, who was allegedly the incident commander, was part of the slow police response that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

Attorneys for Arredondo filed a motion to dismiss the charges, arguing that the former chief should not be held responsible for the actions he didn’t take that day. The judge did not make a ruling on the motion Monday.

A grand jury indicted Arredondo, as well as responding officer Adrian Gonzales, on multiple counts of child endangerment and abandonment earlier this year. Both have pleaded not guilty.

The indictment alleges that Arredondo did not follow his active shooter training and made critical decisions that slowed the police response while the gunman was “hunting” victims.

Arredondo has said he’s been “ scapegoated ” for his role in the 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. Multiple state and federal investigations have pointed to failures in communication, leadership and training for law enforcement’s response.

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A federal review from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility released Thursday found similar breakdowns in communication and command among Border Patrol agents.

The former schools police chief and Gonzalez, who was indicted on 29 similar counts of endangerment and abandonment, are the only two officers facing criminal charges. If convicted, they can serve up to two years in jail time.

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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 undercovered issues.