AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The former Uvalde, Texas, school police chief made his first court appearance Monday on criminal charges that accuse him of failing to take sufficient action during the Robb Elementary School shooting in 2022 that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
Pete Arredondo has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of child endangerment and abandonment. He was indicted earlier this year along with Adrian Gonzales, another former Uvalde school police officer, who faces similar charges and pleaded not guilty during a court hearing in July.
Family members of some of the victims attended the procedural pretrial hearing in Uvalde. Another court hearing was scheduled for later this year.
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.
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.
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.
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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.