• Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Advertise
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Law Officer
Law Officer
No Result
View All Result

Uvalde school police chief tells his side of story for first time

Pete Arredondo says he never considered himself the incident commander

Chief Pete Arredondo

Chief Pete Arredondo (Twitter)

June 10, 2022
Law OfficerbyLaw Officer
Share and speak up for justice, law & order...

UVALDE, Texas – Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo who has faced sharp rebuke over his inadequate response to the massacre at Robb Elementary School is speaking out for the first time. During a media interview, he is saying he never considered himself the incident commander and that he did not give orders telling responding officers to stand down.

Arredondo spoke to the Texas Tribune and is revealing for the first time what he says transpired on May 24 in the small town of Uvalde, where gunman Salvador Ramos murdered 19 students and two teachers.

“Not a single responding officer ever hesitated, even for a moment, to put themselves at risk to save the children,” Arredondo told the news outlet. “We responded to the information that we had and had to adjust to whatever we faced. Our objective was to save as many lives as we could, and the extraction of the students from the classrooms by all that were involved saved over 500 of our Uvalde students and teachers before we gained access to the shooter and eliminated the threat.”

Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said in late May that responding officers didn’t immediately engage the shooter because “the on-scene commander at the time” — whom he identified as Arredondo – “believed that it had transitioned from an active shooter to a barricaded subject.”

Nevertheless, Arredondo told the Texas Tribune this week that he never considered himself to be in that role as the shooting was unfolding.

“I didn’t issue any orders,” Arredondo said, noting that he “called for assistance and asked for an extraction tool to open the door” to the classroom that Ramos was inside, Fox News reported.

It was unclear who Arredondo believed to be the incident commander if not him.

The group of U.S. Border Patrol agents who ultimately shot and killed Ramos were reportedly told through their earpieces at one point to not enter that classroom, according to the New York Times.

However, George Hyde, Arredondo’s attorney who accompanied him during the interview, told the Texas Tribune that his client didn’t say that, and if it was said, he isn’t sure who did.

“It’s not that someone said stand down,” said Hyde. “It was ‘Right now, we can’t get in until we get the tools. So we’re going to do what we can do to save lives.’ And what was that? It was to evacuate the students and the parents and the teachers out of the rooms.”

Arredondo also said in the interview that he tried dozens of keys to try to get through the door separating law enforcement personnel from Ramos, even without the protection of wearing body armor.

“Each time I tried a key I was just praying,” he told the Texas Tribune, also inferring there were no breaching tools readily available.

The chief acknowledged not carrying a police radio, which is why he was unaware of the 911 calls coming from students and teachers begging for help inside the classrooms. His reason for not carrying one is simply unacceptable. He said he thought it would slow him down and that he wanted both hands free to hold his firearm, Fox reported.

According to the Texas Tribune, Arredondo said he’s received death threats since the mass shooting. He also said he didn’t speak out sooner since he didn’t want to compound the community’s grief.


Share and speak up for justice, law & order...
Tags: Pete ArredondoRobb Elementary SchoolTexasUvalde
Law Officer

Law Officer

Law Officer is the only major law enforcement publication and website owned and operated by law enforcement—for law enforcement and supporters of justice, law, and order. This unique facet makes Law Officer much more than just a publishing company, but a true advocate for the law enforcement profession.

Related Posts

Isaiah Patrick Bias

Texas detention officer murdered while escorting ‘pure evil’ inmate

December 18, 2024
Jacob Candanoza

Texas police officer killed in overnight shooting, gunman in custody following manhunt

December 9, 2024
Jerome Scholz

Off-duty Texas police officer killed in motorcycle crash

November 18, 2024
Pregnant woman

Dallas approves measure to add 900 police officers

November 7, 2024
Richard Curtis

Pizza shop employees turn the tables on armed robbery suspect

October 17, 2024
Karissa David

Dallas police officer blinded as fellow officer murdered in execution-style slaying

September 25, 2024
Load More

Latest Articles

I’m Not Broken, I’m Dangerous

July 4, 2025

The Problem with Promotions

June 20, 2025
Melissa Hortman

Former Minnesota House Speaker Assassinated in Attack on Multiple Lawmakers

June 14, 2025

Sheriff: If You Throw a Brick At Our Deputy, ‘We Will Kill You, Graveyard Dead’

June 13, 2025

Former USAID Officer and Executives Plead Guilty in $550 Million Bribery Scheme

June 13, 2025

A Case Study in Federal Corruption and Media Silence

June 12, 2025
Load More

Weekly E-Newsletter

Subscribe—and get the latest news and editorials direct from Law Officer each week!

[newsletter_form type="minimal"]

Protect Your Privacy

JOIN THE FIGHT

BE COURAGEOUS

POPULAR GEAR

Tactical Pants

Tactical Boots

 

FIND MORE…

Law Officer

© 2024 LawOfficer.com

LawOfficer.com

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact

Speak up for justice, law & order

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
  • Advertise
  • Articles
    • Archives
    • Chaplain
    • Crime & Controversy
    • Community
    • Cop Humor
    • Editorial
    • Op-ed
    • Gear & Technology
    • Investigations
    • Laws & Legal
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Officer Down
    • On Duty
    • Tactics
  • Network
    • Learn more
  • Training
  • Officer Privacy
  • Jobs
  • Contact

© 2024 LawOfficer.com