UVALDE, Texas – After Uvalde city officials told residents this summer a review of its police department’s actions during the Robb Elementary School shooting would take 60 to 90 days, they conceded Thursday there is no longer a timeline for when it will be completed.
Uvalde officials, through a spokesperson, said the investigator hired to conduct the review has been unable to get access to information from other government entities involved in examining the May 24 shooting by an 18-year-old gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers on campus.
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Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin announced the formal review in July, after a blistering report from the Texas House committee detailed some of the failures in the overall law enforcement response.
Former Austin Police Department detective Jesse Prado was tapped to conduct the review.
On Aug. 9, during a heated Uvalde City Council meeting, McLaughlin and members of the council repeatedly told residents in attendance that the review would take 60 to 90 days.
But that timeline came and went without any notable updates being provided by the city.
McLaughlin this week told CNN that Lt. Mariano Pargas, the acting Uvalde police chief during the massacre, would be removed from the department by the end of the week.
That revelation, however, was not the result of the review’s conclusions, but instead came a day after a CNN report released audio recordings of Pargas speaking with a 911 dispatcher and knowing that there was a room “full of victims” inside the school.
Pargas retired Thursday, two days before council was scheduled to meet to discuss his continued employment with the city.
A spokeswoman released the following statement on behalf of Uvalde city officials Thursday:
“There have been some delays based on our investigator not being able to obtain all of the information necessary from other governmental entities involved. These type of investigations evolve and it was an estimated timeframe only as to how long it would take. Initially, DPS advised the City it would release its investigation within a short timeframe after the incident including interviews of Uvalde PD Officers. Instead, the City received a letter from the District Attorney not to release any information, including the release of the DPS investigation until she reviews possible criminal charges. The City is committed to ensuring its investigation is conducted correctly, take the time it needs to do so, and continue to seek and obtain information from other governmental entities for its review.”
The spokeswoman said interviews with Uvalde police officers are ongoing.