SAN ANTONIO – The embattled police chief for the Uvalde school district was a no-show for a special City Council meeting on Thursday — his third absence at a meeting since he was sworn in as councilman last month.
The Uvalde City Council met on Thursday to discuss items related to the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School, when an 18-year-old gunman stormed a fourth-grade classroom and killed 19 students and two of their teachers.
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Councilmembers discussed the shooting behind closed doors.
Arredondo, who has been criticized by Uvalde residents and the Texas Department of Public Safety director for his response to the shooting, was sworn in as councilman on May 31.
Since then, he’s missed two other meetings – a special emergency council meeting on June 7 and a special council meeting on June 21.
According to the city charter and ordinance, the June 7 emergency meeting wouldn’t count against him, but the June 21 and June 30 council meetings would.
If he misses three meetings, then a special election can be called and he could be voted out, according to a city charter.
The next council meeting is scheduled for July 12.
Arredondo requested a “leave of absence from future council meetings.” That request, urged by the families of the victims, was denied at last week’s meeting.
In the wake of the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, Arredondo’s response has been called an “abject failure” by DPS Director Steve McCraw.
McCraw placed direct blame on Arredondo, the on-scene commander, during a special Texas Senate committee hearing on June 21.
“The only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from entering Room 111 and 112 was [Arredondo], the on-scene commander who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children,” McCraw said last week.
Arredondo has since been placed on leave from the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District.
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