Uvalde Suspends Entire School Police Force Following Fallout From Mass Shooting

(Photo : Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
"He would rather resign than fire his friends,” said Veronica Mata, who lost her 10-year-old daughter in the shooting. “It was an easy way out."

The Uvalde school district decided to suspend its entire police force as the superintendent is set to retire following the fallout from the horrific mass shooting in the area.

The decision, which comes months after the alarming mass shooting that resulted in the death of 19 students and two teachers, is the latest development in the issue at hand. The school district, which is still facing criticism over its police department's failings both during the May 24 shooting and since, announced the suspension on Friday.

Suspension of Entire Police Force

Hours after the announcement, Uvalde school district Superintendent Hal Harrell announced that he would be stepping down from his position. However, there was no timeframe given for the official's retirement but that transition will be discussed in a closed session of the school board on Monday.

In a statement, the district said that it had requested more Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to be stationed on campuses and at extracurricular activities amid the police department suspension. Authorities added that they were confident that staff and student safety will not be compromised during the transition, as per ABC News.

Lt. Miguel Hernandez, who was responsible for leading the department in the fallout from the massacre, and Ken Mueller, the UCISD's director of student services, were both placed on administrative leave.

The former acknowledged in a law enforcement communication in August that he had received formal notification from DPS that an officer applying to Uvalde's school police force was under investigation for her response at Robb elementary.

According to the New York Times, the school district previously fired the chief of the department, Pete Arredondo. Officials said that he was the incident commander during the school shooting and bore responsibility for delaying a confrontation with the gunman for over an hour after the start of the shooting.

Ongoing Investigations

However, a state investigatory report said that the failures of the police response at the school extended far beyond Arredondo. This included many other officers from local, state, and federal agencies who similarly did not follow standard operating procedures which called for officers to rush to confront an actively shooting gunman.

Explaining its decision, the district said that recent developments have uncovered additional concerns with department operations. However, the statement did not provide information on what those developments were. Brett Cross, who camped outside the district officers for nine nights, finally went home on Friday, saying that he and the other families protesting about the incident saw the district's decision as a direct result of their efforts.

Cross said that it should not have had to last that long, noting that it was their first win but it would not be the last. He raised his nephew, 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia, like a son until the day he was killed at school.

The suspension announcement comes as there are still two ongoing investigations into the police response to the school shooting. One officer who was recently hired by the Uvalde school district is being looked into for her conduct on the day of the shooting. On the other hand, Officer Crimson Elizondo was sacked from the force on Thursday, BBC reported.