The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Uvalde School District suspends its police force after CNN report

2022-10-07T22:27:12.282Z


The suspensions come in the wake of a CNN report that identified newly hired Uvalde school officer Crimson Elizondo as one of the state troopers under investigation for her actions during the response to the Robb Elementary School massacre in May.


The harsh message of a girl for the Uvalde massacre 1:13

(CNN) --

The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) said Friday it had suspended its school police force, less than five months after the attack that left 19 children and two teachers dead.

“The District has made the decision to suspend all activities of the Uvalde CISD Police Department for a period of time.

Currently employed officers will perform other duties in the district,” the district said in a statement.

Additionally, Lt. Miguel Hernandez and Ken Mueller were placed on administrative leave, with Mueller choosing to retire, according to the release.

“The District has requested the Texas Department of Public Safety to provide additional soldiers for campus and extracurricular activities,” the district said.

"We are confident that the safety of staff and students will not be compromised during this transition."

The district cited unspecified "recent developments" that "uncovered additional concerns with department operations."

The decisions come in the wake of a CNN report this week that identified newly hired Uvalde school officer Crimson Elizondo as one of the state troopers under investigation for her actions during the response to the Robb Elementary School massacre in May.

advertising

The school district released a statement Thursday, following the CNN report, announcing Elizondo's firing.

Crimson Elizondo on the day of the massacre in Uvalde, recorded on police body cameras.

In the wake of the CNN report, the school district superintendent told staff of his intention to retire.

The Uvalde school board is expected to discuss the removal of Superintendent Hall Harrell on Monday.

Superintendent Hal Harrell told district staff that Monday's school board meeting will include a closed session to "discuss the superintendent's retirement and transition options," according to an email obtained by CNN.

  • Exclusive: The former police officer investigated for the response to the Uvalde school massacre was hired to protect the city's children

Police response to the attack has been described as an “abject failure”

Elizondo was one of the first of 91 Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers to arrive at the school that day.

She was one of 376 law enforcement officers who responded as the shooter lingered for 77 minutes, with victims dead, dying and traumatized, before he was apprehended.

The response to the attack has been denounced as an "abject failure" and blame has been widely spread.

The school's police chief was fired and now seven DPS officers are under investigation.

CNN exclusively reported that Elizondo is one of the agents under investigation.

A source close to the investigation also confirmed this to CNN.

So far, the only person known to have lost his job in the response to the shooting has been School Police Chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, who was fired by the school board in August.

Arredondo became the media figure of the failed response, although he has said that he did not consider himself the commander of the incident and has asked to be reinstated.

Sources familiar with the investigation confirmed to CNN that Elizondo is one of seven officers whose conduct is being investigated by DPS, but neither their names nor their conduct during the response has been made public.

Elizondo was not properly equipped and told investigators she did not feel comfortable entering the school without her gear, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

  • Schools, scene of gun violence in the United States: these have been the worst shootings, from Columbine and Sandy Hook to Uvalde

He no longer works for DPS.

Over the summer, Elizondo was hired as an agent for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, where her role was to protect some of the same children who survived the shooting at Robb Elementary School.

Elizondo declined to speak to CNN in person, by phone or direct message.

Police body camera footage and footage seen by CNN shows Elizondo arriving outside the school as one of the first responders.

She gets out of her official vehicle but doesn't take any tactical body armor or long rifle from her, as officers are trained to do.

Elizondo walked inside the building briefly, but most of the time he stayed outside of it.

The school district has said it wanted to recruit 10 more officers after the attack.

It did not specifically announce Elizondo's hiring over the summer, although the names and photos of her and four other police officers, a lieutenant and a security guard are on her website, under the banner "KEEP UCISD SAFE."

Superintendent Harrell said at a special public meeting in August that at least 33 DPS officers would also be deployed to the district's eight schools.

After concerns from residents that the officers who failed to stop the killing would take over security at the school, Father Brett Cross told CNN he had been assured that deployed DPS officers had not been on the response. of the authorities to the shooting.

“Our children have been taken from us.

We will not stop fighting until we have answers and ensure that the safety of children in our community is the top priority,” said a statement from representatives of the district's families of students.

The Texas DPS last month launched an internal review of its officers who responded to the school shooting.

CNN's Ray Sanchez and Rachel Clarke contributed to this report.

Uvalde

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-10-07

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.