Uvalde police chief to resign after report defended officers’ shooting response

[Pelican Press 0]

Uvalde police chief to resign after report defended officers’ ********* response

The Uvalde, Tex., police chief, who was not present the day a gunman ******* 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, announced his resignation Tuesday, five days after an investigator hired by the city defended police officers’ response to the ********* in a report that drew fury from many of the victims’ families.

Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez, who was away on vacation during the 2022 *********, said he will step down April 6, after 26 years on the force.

“Together, we have achieved significant progress and milestones, and I take pride in the positive impact we’ve made during my tenure,” he said in a

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, thanking city leaders. “I want to express my deepest appreciation to all of my colleagues and team members for their unwavering support, professionalism, and dedication to our shared mission of serving and protecting the community.”

He did not mention the 2022 *********, nor the report regarding his department’s actions.

Uvalde Mayor Cody Smith said assistant chief of police Homer Delgado will serve as interim chief.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our community, and we look forward to working together to identify the best candidate to serve the people of Uvalde,” Smith said in an emailed statement.

Rodriguez’s resignation notice came hours before the Uvalde City Council was set to meet Tuesday afternoon — the council’s first regular session since the report was delivered. The city council convened a special meeting Thursday to hear investigator Jesse Prado’s

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, which the city paid nearly $100,000 for,

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Prado’s report concluded that there was no indication of wrongdoing by any of the officers at the scene May 24, 2022, and that all responding officers should be exonerated. The report characterized all of the officers’ actions as good-****** attempts to respond to the deadly *******. Instead, the report highlighted a lack of proper resources that enabled officers to respond adequately. “Specifically, statements by officers concerned the absence of rifle rated ballistic shields, and breaching tools,” the report said.

The report is in sharp contrast to the Justice Department’s findings, released in January, which offered a scathing review of police officers’ actions and the deadly consequences. The Robb Elementary gunman was ******* 77 minutes after officers arrived at the scene, and the federal report said “lives would have been saved” if officers had responded quickly. Instead, officers were “in limbo with a lack of urgency.” Numerous local law enforcement officers were criticized for what the Justice Department characterized as “cascading failures of leadership.”

No officers have been charged with any ******.

Families of the victims, present at Thursday’s meeting,

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by Prado’s report. Many denounced the findings and pleaded for accountability while Prado sat silently. Some city council members were upset by the report as well.

“Mr. Prado’s investigative report was insulting and insensitive to the families, and I felt his comments were not representative of the council’s expectations,” city council member Hector Luevano told The Washington Post on Tuesday. “I believe Mr. Prado went beyond his scope of investigation by including his ‘exoneration’ comments of all officers involved.”

Community members criticized Rodriguez as well, questioning why the police chief allowed officers to remain on the force after their delayed response to the *********.

It’s unclear whether the council will take any action regarding the report at Tuesday’s meeting.

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