Uvalde, Texas School District Suspends Entirety of Police Force Over Response to Shooting

Following criticism over the Uvalde School District’s police force response to the Uvalde elementary school shooting, the entire force has been suspended.

As reported by ABC News, the announcement was made on Friday in response to the force’s much criticized response to the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School which left 19 students and two teachers dead. The district noted that additional Texas Department of Public Safety troopers will be stationed at campuses. “We are confident that staff and student safety will not be compromised during this transition,” reads a district statement. “Officers currently employed will fill other roles in the district.”

Lt. Miguel Hernandez, who led the response to the massacre, and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District’s director of student services Ken Mueller have been placed on administrative leave. “The District remains committed to resolving issues with verifiable evidence. Decisions concerning the UCISD police department have been pending the results of the Texas Police Chiefs Association and JPPI investigation,” reads the statement. “Recent developments have uncovered additional concerns with department operations.”

In July, the Uvalde City Council said that “every single officer” involved in the response would be investigated. Pete Arredondo, the 50-year-old police chief for the school district, was fired after an unanimous vote in August. The 18-year-old perpetrator of the attack was inside the classroom he stationed himself in for over an hour before police broke inside and fatally shot him.

Footage from surveillance cameras inside the school further spurred anger from parents of children at the school. As reported by The Austin American-Statesman in May, the Texas Department of Public Safety admitted Arredondo made a mistake when he determined the perpetrator was a “barricaded subject” instead of an “active shooter.” Robb Elementary has since been permanently closed, and will be demolished with plans to rebuild.