This is how the investigation in Uvalde goes one month after the massacre 2:39
(CNN) --
The embattled Uvalde School District Police Chief Pedro "Pete" Arredondo has resigned from his seat on the Uvalde City Council, according to a statement attributed to him published Saturday in the Uvalde Leader-News.
“After much consideration, I regret to inform those who voted for me that I have decided to resign as a member of the District 3 City Council. The Mayor, City Council and City staff must continue to move forward without distraction.
I feel like this is the best decision for Uvalde,” Arredondo said, according to Leader-News.
Grandmother of Uvalde attacker leaves hospital a month after being shot in the face
Arredondo, who was previously denied an administrative license from the city council, was also granted an administrative license from the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District last week, CNN previously reported.
Uvalde city officials have not been informed of Arredondo's decision Saturday afternoon, and CNN has reached out to his attorney for comment.
Uvalde Police Chief is on administrative leave 1:30
Arredondo, chief of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Department since March 2020, was identified by state authorities as the commander on scene during the mass shooting in which a gunman entered adjoining classrooms on May 24. and killed 19 children and two teachers.
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Multiple law enforcement officers arrived at the school within minutes, but allowed the attacker to remain in the classrooms for 77 minutes before finally entering and killing him, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) timeline. in English), which leads a review of the incident.
The lengthy delay contradicted widely-taught protocol for active shooter situations that requires police to immediately stop the threat.
In a hearing before the Texas Senate last week, DPS Director Col. Steven McCraw called the police response an “abject failure” and blamed Arredondo solely.
Arredondo, who has worked in law enforcement for nearly 30 years, has not spoken substantively to the public about his decision-making that day, but he told the Texas Tribune in an interview that he did not consider himself the commander in the scene.
However, at least one of the responding officers expressed the belief that Arredondo was leading the police response inside the school, telling others that "the boss is in charge," according to the DPS timeline.
Arrendondo also told the Texas Tribune that he did not instruct officers to refrain from breaking into classrooms.
Following the release of the DPS timeline and more details about the law enforcement response, Uvalde CISD Superintendent Hal Harrell placed Arredondo on leave from his position as school police chief on June 22.
Arredondo had been elected to the Uvalde City Council on May 7 and was sworn in a week after the May 24 shooting, CNN previously reported.
Shootings in the United StatesUvalde
