New York Times investigation bolsters Uvalde parents’ demands that more officers be held accountable

UVALDE – Families of the victims killed in the May 24 Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde said a New York Times investigation is further proof that more people need to be held accountable for failing to protect their children that day.

The New York Times analyzed all available footage that has been publicly released so far and concluded that the narrative of Uvalde CISD Chief Pete Arredondo was the sole scapegoat for a botched response is not accurate.

“Visual evidence from the scene, while limited, indicates the problem was not simply one incompetent school police chief, or officers who knew better, but failed to take action. The available footage shows high-ranking officers, experienced state troopers, police academy instructors — even federal SWAT specialists — came to the same conclusions and were detoured by the same delays the school police chief has been condemned for causing,” the New York Times reported.

The Texas House investigative committee report also found “an overall lackadaisical approach” to law enforcement response, but DPS Director Steven McCraw has largely stuck to his claim that Arredondo is the one to blame.

The Times found that visual evidence on the released body-cam videos and available hallway cameras conflicts with McCraw’s testimony in a number of ways. The following are some of the facts The Times discovered in its investigation:

• The videos show that several officers from local, state and federal agencies arrived on the scene roughly at the same time as Arredondo.
• Officers from various agencies failed to follow active shooter protocol and run toward gunfire.
• DPS Sgt. Juan Maldonado arrived at the campus about a minute after the suspect entered the school and opened fire into two classrooms.
• Footage shows U.S. Border Patrol arriving 13 minutes sooner than the DPS timeline states.
• Uvalde Police Sgt. Daniel Coronado reported on the radio at 11:38 a.m. that the gunman was “contained.” The DPS timeline did not mention that fact.
• No officer rushed the classroom even after the gunman fired again at 11:44 a.m. and at 12:21 p.m. despite multiple agencies being in the building — including BORTAC.
• BORTAC did not breach the classroom and kill the gunman until nearly 40 minutes after they first arrived on campus.

Arredondo was fired from Uvalde CISD, but shooting victims’ parents and families say many others need to be held accountable. Some of the parents protested outside of Uvalde CISD headquarters this month, demanding action be taken against the entire police department.

After two weeks of protesting — and a revelation first reported by CNN that confirmed a newly-hired officer with Uvalde CISD was a former DPS trooper under an active investigation for her response to the attack — the parents finally received the news they had been waiting for.

On Friday, Oct. 7, the district agreed to suspend its entire police force “for a period of time” and Superintendent Hal Harrell announced his retirement.

The City of Uvalde put acting Uvalde Police chief, Lt. Mariano Parga, on administrative leave following the Texas House special investigating committee report in July. The 25 Uvalde PD officers at the scene are being investigated by a third party hired by the city. DPS is investigating the actions of seven of its 91 officers who responded to the shooting. Otherwise, no action has been taken against any of the 376 law enforcement officers from more than 20 agencies at Robb Elementary that day.

A DPS official told KSAT the agency had no comment about the New York Times article.

State Senator of District 19, Roland Gutierrez, spoke with KSAT Wednesday afternoon and said the report sheds light on misinformation that’s come out since the shooting.

“The New York Times Article just encapsulates every bit of failure or more importantly the lies of misinformation that have come out from Director McCraw and his agency,” said Gutierrez.

“Steve McCraw has given us different scenarios to the Texas Senate, The Robb Committee Report, to the press, all of that misinformation has been intentional. I don’t know why, but it has been intentional,” he added.

The report is further stoking the anger of the victims’ families who say they have been unable to mourn for their children because they’re too busy fighting for accountability.

KSAT is part of a media coalition, which includes the New York Times, that is suing DPS, the City of Uvalde, the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District over unfulfilled public records requests.

You can read some of the reactions of family members to Wednesday’s Times report below:

Lives Robbed, a group that has protested the response delay and called for tougher gun laws, cited “systematic failures” for its fight for accountability and transparency.

To read the full report from the New York Times, follow this link.

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• VIDEO: Uvalde police body cameras show lack of direction and communication during Robb Elementary school shooting