Uvalde investigation: Texas House committee report describes multiple failures and ‘nonchalant approach’ by law enforcement

Sara Adm2022-07-17
162
Uvalde investigation: Texas House committee report describes multiple failures and 'nonchalant approach' by law enforcement


That’s just one of the findings of the 77-page report, which also details the failures of several other entities, including Uvalde’s school system, the shooter’s family and social media platforms.

But through its investigation, the committee found no “bad guys” beyond the shooter, according to a copy of the report reviewed by CNN.

“There is no one to whom malicious or malicious intent can be attributed,” the report said. “Instead, we found systemic failures and grossly poor decision-making.”

The document, which was made available to the families of the victims on Sunday morning, is described as an “interim report”, with the commission of inquiry noting that its work remains incomplete and that several investigations are still ongoing. But this is the first time since the shooting at Robb Elementary that a government report has offered a full overview of the shooting and the response from law enforcement, which has been heavily criticized.

In the days following the attack, officials gave conflicting and confusing information, and key questions about the police response have remained unanswered since the May 24 shooting. Chief among them – why authorities waited more than an hour in the school hallway before confronting and killing the shooter, a decision that law enforcement experts say could have potentially cost lives.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Col. Steven McCraw called the authorities’ response a “dismal failure” during a hearing before a Texas Senate committee last month, blaming the commander at the scene, whom state authorities have identified as District Police Chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo.
Arredondo, who was placed on administrative leave by the school district, told the Texas Tribune last month that he did not consider himself the incident commander and assumed another official took control of the response. wider.

The committee’s report, however, describes “the shortcomings and failures of the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District and various law enforcement agencies and officers.”

According to the report, a number of officers who responded were from federal agencies: of the 376 responders, 149 were from the United States Border Patrol, 14 from the Department of Homeland Security and 91 from Texas DPS.

CNN reached out to the Texas DPS, U.S. Border Patrol, Uvalde School District, City Police Department and Uvalde District Attorney for comment, among others.

Families will meet with the committee on Sunday

The report comes nearly eight weeks after an 18-year-old gunman entered Robb Elementary and began shooting inside adjacent classrooms, killing 19 children and two teachers.
Republican State Rep. Dustin Burrows, chairman of the committee, said last month that the group would do “everything in its power” to provide facts and answers about what happened “before, during and after this tragedy”.

Members of the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District police chief and officers, the district superintendent, the school principal, a teacher and custodial staff are among those who testified behind closed doors to the committee – with around 40 people testifying, according to a source.

The committee did not have access to key witnesses, the report said, and medical examiners did not release reports of their findings. But the Inquiry Committee “believes that this interim report provides the most compelling account to date”, although “certain aspects of these interim findings may be challenged or refuted in the future”.

Victims’ families were due to receive the report and hallway surveillance video, without audio, of law enforcement’s response on Sunday morning to give them an opportunity to review it before meeting with members of the investigating committee .

What we learned from Uvalde's set video and what remains unknown

Printed copies of the report were hand-delivered to officials in Uvalde and Texas on Saturday night over fears the document could be leaked to the media before family members of the victims could read it, according to some of the officials who received the report.

The surveillance footage was leaked and published by the Austin American-Statesman newspaper last Tuesday, sparking outrage from local officials and families who said they were caught off guard and disrespected by the unexpected release.
In A declaration after the newspaper published the video, Burrows said that while he was happy that part of the video had been made public, he was “also disappointed with the families of the victims and the demands of the community of Uvalde to watch the video first, and not to have certain images and audio of the violence, were not achieved.”

The investigative committee’s report and video are expected to be released alongside Sunday’s meeting with family members. A press conference is scheduled for Sunday afternoon to allow members of the press to ask questions of the committee.

CNN’s Shimon Prokupecz and Matthew J. Friedman reported from Uvalde, while Dakin Andone wrote and reported this story in New York. CNN’s Elizabeth Joseph reported from Los Angeles. CNN’s Rosa Flores and Kevin Flower contributed to this report.




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Sara Adm2022-07-17
162
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