Uvalde School Board Votes Unanimously to Fire Police Chief
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On Wednesday night, the Uvalde School Board voted unanimously to fire Uvalde Police Chief Pete Arredondo.
The vote comes three months after the shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 children and two teachers dead. It also comes after heated school board sessions, during which parents demanded that Arredondo and others in the school system be fired.
Arredondo, who did not attend the meeting, had been placed on leave last month over his handling of the shooting. There has been public criticism of Arredondo and other officers over the fact that 77 minutes passed between when police entered the building and when they breached the classroom to kill the gunman. During this time, some of the victims were calling 911 for help before they died, which Arredondo says he was not aware of at the time. He also claims that he did not regard himself as the commanding officer. Meanwhile, students will return to class on September 6, either virtually or in temporary classrooms elsewhere in Uvalde.
News sources across the political spectrum similarly pointed out that not only was the vote unanimous, but that a number of attendees responded to the vote with applause.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Uvalde School Board Votes Unanimously To Fire Police Chief Pete ArredondoThe Uvalde school board voted unanimously on Wednesday night to immediately fire police chief Pete Arredondo over the disastrous response to the shooting at Robb Elementary earlier this year that resulted in the deaths of 19 children.
The disgraced police chief refused to attend the meeting because he was scared for his safety.
The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District had already recommended that Arredondo be fired.
“Chief Arredondo will not participate in his own illegal and unconstitutional public lynching and respectfully requests the Board immediately reinstate him, with all backpay and benefits...
From the Center
Uvalde school shooting: Embattled police chief Pete Arredondo firedA police chief accused of botching the response to the fatal shooting of 19 schoolchildren and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, has been sacked.
The local school board voted unanimously to fire Pete Arredondo, who had been on leave since June.
His lawyers said in a written statement that he had been unaware anyone was inside the classrooms with the shooter.
The firing came three months to the day since the attack and two weeks before the new school term begins.
The attack at Robb Elementary School on 24 May...
From the Left
Uvalde school board votes unanimously to fire police chief Pete ArredondoThe Uvalde school board voted unanimously Wednesday evening to immediately terminate the contract of district police chief Pete Arredondo, three months after a teenaged gunman took the lives of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary.
The board made its decision in a closed session meeting lasting nearly an hour-and-a-half. Several members of the audience applauded after the decision was announced. One person was heard repeatedly shouting: "We're not done."
Arredondo didn't attend the meeting. His attorney instead issued a 17-page press statement that said the district wasn't following legal procedure as...
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