Still entwined in controversy for his department’s botched response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, school district police chief Pete Arredondo is calling it quits as a city councilman.
Arredondo was placed on administrative leave from his post June 22, a day following state Senate testimony where Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw said Arredondo’s officers could have intervened within minutes of arriving to the school.
Instead, it took nearly a dozen police officers an excruciating 77 minutes to neutralize the shooting threat after they may have not even tried to open the door to the room where children were trapped with the gunman.
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Nineteen children and two adults were brutally killed at the school. Arredondo told his version of events to the Texas Tribune in early June, defending officers’ delay in breaking into the classroom.
Arredondo was elected to the city council—the same body that has tried to seal records from the public—just weeks before the shooting.
“After much consideration, I regret to inform those who voted for me that I have decided to step down as a member of the city council for District 3,” Arredondo told Uvalde Leader-News. “The mayor, the city council, and the city staff must continue to move forward without distractions. I feel this is the best decision for Uvalde.”
It’s unclear as of Saturday afternoon if Arredondo will also resign from his post as the school district’s police chief as well.
