TX - Uvalde; Robb Elementary, 19 children and 3 adults killed, shooter dead, 24 MAY 2022 #2

[Dotta]

"There’s no manual for this type of scenario,” Ure said. “If people need to be held appropriately accountable, then so be it. But I think the lynch-mob mentality right now isn’t serving any purpose, and it’s borderline reckless.”

"No manual for this type of scenario"??

Well, that is surprising.

 

[WingsOverTX]

“My mind was to get there as fast as possible, eliminate any threats, and protect the students and staff,” Arredondo said. He noted that some 500 students from the school were safely evacuated during the crisis…

“Each time I tried a key I was just praying,” Arredondo said. Finally, 77 minutes after the massacre began, officers were able to unlock the door and fatally shoot the gunman.

Waiting for keys, unable to break down doors: Uvalde schools police chief defends delay in confronting gunman

Criticized by law enforcement experts for slowness in taking out the shooter, Pete Arredondo described an agonizing wait for a key that would work. In an interview with The Texas Tribune, he said he hadn’t spoken out sooner because he didn’t want to compound his hometown’s grief or point blame.

www.texastribune.org

The shooter and Arredondo entered the school on opposite sides​

That is just excruciating to read. Talk about unprepared!

An active shooter drill must examine in detail security measures for many potential scenarios. Were they only prepared to take down a gunman in a hallway or outside the school?

No amount of blame mitigation will ever put this right. A search for a key as described is basically criminal malfeasance IMO.

The school security was completely unprepared! If radios don't work, find a communication system that will. Don't just ditch your only 911 communication system. That alone indicates no plan was in place despite any drills.

I really can't believe these excuses are being made public. No one was THINKING in preparation.

Every school shooter plan in Texas schools needs to be reviewed for weaknesses in preparedness.

If equipment you need to protect lives doesn't help when needed, then you are UNPREPARED and drills are just a game, not a rehearsal of how to respond in real life.

No excuses! I'm sick of hearing bureaucratic "can'ts and don'ts"!

Having worked in local government environments with people who have low skills at problem-solving, I am not surprised by the stupidity. But I do find it unacceptable & criminally culpable in this instance.

Some of the 10-year-olds involved are smarter and braver than the adults charged with their safety. Think about that.

MOO

 

[Dotta]

"On Thursday The New York Times revealed a review of video footage which found Arredondo quickly became aware there were still more than a dozen survivors inside the classrooms shooter Ramos had entered."

More than a DOZEN of 36 trapped in Uvalde awaited rescue for an HOUR

More than a dozen of the 33 children and three teachers trapped in Uvalde school during the massacre were alive and were waiting for rescue for 77 minutes as police failed to find the right door key.

www-dailymail-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org

 

[Erutan]

Uvalde's school district police chief said he intentionally left his radios behind when responding to the mass shooting because he thought they would slow him down

The police chief said he wasn't aware that children and teachers were desperately calling 911 for help because he didn't have his radio with him.

www.yahoo.com

• The Uvalde schools police chief said he left his radios behind during last month's mass shooting.
• He said he believed that the radios would have slowed him down and impaired his shooting accuracy.
• But he also said he was unaware students were calling 911 because he didn't have a radio on him.

bolding is mine

Smh.
It does sound in my opinion like a somewhat lame excuse.

Waiting for keys, unable to break down doors: Uvalde schools police chief defends delay in confronting gunman

Criticized by law enforcement experts for slowness in taking out the shooter, Pete Arredondo described an agonizing wait for a key that would work. In an interview with The Texas Tribune, he said he hadn’t spoken out sooner because he didn’t want to compound his hometown’s grief or point blame.

www.texastribune.org

Thinking he was the first officer to arrive and wanting to waste no time, Arredondo believed that carrying the radios would slow him down. One had a whip like antenna that would hit him as he ran. The other had a clip that Arredondo knew would cause it to fall off his tactical belt during a long run.

In a phone interview with the Texas Tribune, Arredondo said he left two radios outside the school because he believed they would have slowed him down and that every second mattered.
bolded added

Of course every second mattered !!!
More smh.

77 minutes to find the "right key" and enter is inexcusable.

Break through a window if you must, or find a way to break the door down.

Regarding the msm link at earlier post #900, I don't think there is a 'lynch mob' mentality at all.
It sounds more like deflection from some of those in authority.
Again my take on it.

I believe people esp. the families of the deceased are in extreme anguish, and they want answers !
Do not let a locked door cause more than an hour's delay, and prevent lives from being saved.

My .02.

 

[PrairieWind]

It is crazy that it took that long to find a key. Was a breach not possible through the ceiling? I don't know anything about the inside of the school and its construction.

 

[BeckyF]

Uvalde schools police chief: I didn't know I was in charge at the shooting scene

Pete Arredondo defended himself in his first extensive remarks since the massacre. The police response to the shooting has been heavily criticized.

www.google.com

The Texas school police chief criticized for his actions during one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history said in his first extensive comments since the massacre, published Thursday, that he didn't consider himself the person in charge as it unfolded and assumed someone else had taken control of the law enforcement response.

Pete Arredondo, 50, the police chief of the Uvalde school district, also told The Texas Tribune he intentionally left behind both his police and campus radios before entering Robb Elementary School.

He didn’t know he was in charge??? Assumed someone else had taken control??

Get rid of this guy. He’s worthless. IMO

 

[Dotta]

"Welcome to the 4th grade! We have a wonderful year ahead of us!” Eva Mireles wrote.

A funeral Mass was held on Friday for Eva Mireles.

RIP

Texas school shooting teacher ‘dedicated herself to family and students’ | BreakingNews.ie

Nineteen children and two teachers died in the attack in Uvalde.

www.breakingnews.ie

 

[x_files]

"Welcome to the 4th grade! We have a wonderful year ahead of us!” Eva Mireles wrote.

A funeral Mass was held on Friday for Eva Mireles.

RIP

Texas school shooting teacher ‘dedicated herself to family and students’ | BreakingNews.ie

Nineteen children and two teachers died in the attack in Uvalde.

www.breakingnews.ie

They did have a wonderful year up until that day. May she and her students R.I.P. in heaven.

 

[Dawookie]

Uvalde schools police chief: I didn't know I was in charge at the shooting scene

Pete Arredondo defended himself in his first extensive remarks since the massacre. The police response to the shooting has been heavily criticized.

www.google.com

The Texas school police chief criticized for his actions during one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history said in his first extensive comments since the massacre, published Thursday, that he didn't consider himself the person in charge as it unfolded and assumed someone else had taken control of the law enforcement response.

Pete Arredondo, 50, the police chief of the Uvalde school district, also told The Texas Tribune he intentionally left behind both his police and campus radios before entering Robb Elementary School.

He didn’t know he was in charge??? Assumed someone else had taken control??

Get rid of this guy. He’s worthless. IMO

So he left his radios behind and then thought he wasn't in charge? What I want to say about this guy would probably get me banned. It's like he forgot everything about his training to begin with and then just made asinine decision after decision

 

[Seattle1]

So he left his radios behind and then thought he wasn't in charge? What I want to say about this guy would probably get me banned. It's like he forgot everything about his training to begin with and then just made asinine decision after decision

^^bbm

I understand @Dawooke.

After I read the article, I posted that I had to sleep on it, and even after sleep, I still can't go there.

What this case, and the recent Alabama convict's escape with the help of the Asst. Director of Corrections turned fugitive, has taught me, is how important enforcement of both ONGOING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL FITNESS evaluations are to these positions.

Specific to Chief PA,50, I see a hometown boy, near retirement, accepting a position, not with the County or City Police, but with the School District, where I believe his expectations of general police duties were so minimal that he opted to also seek a seat on Uvalde's City Council, and was successfully elected as a member.

With all due respect to law enforcement officers, the more I've thought about this case, the more I believe that on May 24, Chief PA failed to engage mentally to the call of an active shooter on the very school grounds he attended as a child some 40 years ago.

I'm not qualified to speak to AP's police training or prior performance in his long career in law enforcement but what I do know is that at the time in his career he was faced with an active shooter, at a school exceptionally known to him, unlike the 9-year-old students and teachers inside that knew exactly how to engage and go into "lockdown mode," as they'd practiced since pre-K, Chief PA froze.

I can't even say that I think AP's training failed him. No, what I think is Chief PA lost his instinct as a police officer well before returning to Uvalde. And when he was in a situation that required of him what should have been an instinctual response, not even his mind could sufficiently supplement what was required of him in his sworn position.

IMO, because Chief AP could not see past needing two hands to hold his weapon, he intentionally left his radio outside, his only source for communicating with the critical team of responders, instead of on his person.

To be clear, AP didn't abandon his radio because of any alleged technical or security issues now being spouted, he abandoned his radio because he couldn't think of how to carry it with him into action. Reading his response, It was as if the task to carry his radio was completely foreign to him.

IMO, I think failing this basic requirement completely demonstrates how the man lost all instinct for what is required of a police officer.

Personally, I won't ever fault a man for mental failure but I will find fault for dishonesty, manipulating facts to support oneself, placing pride and ego above all else, and using the first opportunity to address the community, to spin the story where they are void of any accountability for what happened at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022.

MOO

 

[thefragile7393]

Mother says LE threatened to charge her with probation violation/obstruction of justice if she gave her version of events to the media. If this is true, threatening someone for speaking to the press is a massive First Amendment violation IMO.

Uvalde mom tried to rush in and save kids says cops threatened her

Angeli Rose Gomez, who was handcuffed trying to rescue her kids at the Uvalde school shooting, said police are threatening her to keep her quiet after her vocal criticism of their late response.

www.dailymail.co.uk

There could be a gag order due to current internal investigations-in which case yes, this makes sense.

 

[Friday Fan]

There could be a gag order due to current internal investigations-in which case yes, this makes sense.

That does not make sense! A gag order would not pertain to a bystander. She isn't part of the internal investigation.
Sorry to be abrupt!
She may make them "look bad", but it's their problem, not her problem.

 

[Friday Fan]

^^bbm

I understand @Dawooke.

After I read the article, I posted that I had to sleep on it, and even after sleep, I still can't go there.

What this case, and the recent Alabama convict's escape with the help of the Asst. Director of Corrections turned fugitive, has taught me, is how important enforcement of both ONGOING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL FITNESS evaluations are to these positions.

Specific to Chief PA,50, I see a hometown boy, near retirement, accepting a position, not with the County or City Police, but with the School District, where I believe his expectations of general police duties were so minimal that he opted to also seek a seat on Uvalde's City Council, and was successfully elected as a member.

With all due respect to law enforcement officers, the more I've thought about this case, the more I believe that on May 24, Chief PA failed to engage mentally to the call of an active shooter on the very school grounds he attended as a child some 40 years ago.

I'm not qualified to speak to AP's police training or prior performance in his long career in law enforcement but what I do know is that at the time in his career he was faced with an active shooter, at a school exceptionally known to him, unlike the 9-year-old students and teachers inside that knew exactly how to engage and go into "lockdown mode," as they'd practiced since pre-K, Chief PA froze.

I can't even say that I think AP's training failed him. No, what I think is Chief PA lost his instinct as a police officer well before returning to Uvalde. And when he was in a situation that required of him what should have been an instinctual response, not even his mind could sufficiently supplement what was required of him in his sworn position.

IMO, because Chief AP could not see past needing two hands to hold his weapon, he intentionally left his radio outside, his only source for communicating with the critical team of responders, instead of on his person.

To be clear, AP didn't abandon his radio because of any alleged technical or security issues now being spouted, he abandoned his radio because he couldn't think of how to carry it with him into action. Reading his response, It was as if the task to carry his radio was completely foreign to him.

IMO, I think failing this basic requirement completely demonstrates how the man lost all instinct for what is required of a police officer.

Personally, I won't ever fault a man for mental failure but I will find fault for dishonesty, manipulating facts to support oneself, placing pride and ego above all else, and using the first opportunity to address the community, to spin the story where they are void of any accountability for what happened at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022.

MOO

That's how I see it

 

[Dotta]

"This will go down in the books as what not to do.”

Law Enforcement Expert on Uvalde ISD Chief's Account of School Massacre: ‘This Will Go Down in the Books as What Not to Do'

Scrutinized for his response during the school shooting in Uvalde, that district’s police chief Pete Arredondo is speaking out for the first time.

www.nbcdfw.com

 

[Shamrock1]

There could be a gag order due to current internal investigations-in which case yes, this makes sense.

There was no gag order. There wasn’t even a docket. A gag order is court-ordered, not police-ordered. Police cannot demand silence and certainly cannot threaten charges for speaking.

 

[Dawookie]

^^bbm

I understand @Dawooke.

After I read the article, I posted that I had to sleep on it, and even after sleep, I still can't go there.

What this case, and the recent Alabama convict's escape with the help of the Asst. Director of Corrections turned fugitive, has taught me, is how important enforcement of both ONGOING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL FITNESS evaluations are to these positions.

Specific to Chief PA,50, I see a hometown boy, near retirement, accepting a position, not with the County or City Police, but with the School District, where I believe his expectations of general police duties were so minimal that he opted to also seek a seat on Uvalde's City Council, and was successfully elected as a member.

With all due respect to law enforcement officers, the more I've thought about this case, the more I believe that on May 24, Chief PA failed to engage mentally to the call of an active shooter on the very school grounds he attended as a child some 40 years ago.

I'm not qualified to speak to AP's police training or prior performance in his long career in law enforcement but what I do know is that at the time in his career he was faced with an active shooter, at a school exceptionally known to him, unlike the 9-year-old students and teachers inside that knew exactly how to engage and go into "lockdown mode," as they'd practiced since pre-K, Chief PA froze.

I can't even say that I think AP's training failed him. No, what I think is Chief PA lost his instinct as a police officer well before returning to Uvalde. And when he was in a situation that required of him what should have been an instinctual response, not even his mind could sufficiently supplement what was required of him in his sworn position.

IMO, because Chief AP could not see past needing two hands to hold his weapon, he intentionally left his radio outside, his only source for communicating with the critical team of responders, instead of on his person.

To be clear, AP didn't abandon his radio because of any alleged technical or security issues now being spouted, he abandoned his radio because he couldn't think of how to carry it with him into action. Reading his response, It was as if the task to carry his radio was completely foreign to him.

IMO, I think failing this basic requirement completely demonstrates how the man lost all instinct for what is required of a police officer.

Personally, I won't ever fault a man for mental failure but I will find fault for dishonesty, manipulating facts to support oneself, placing pride and ego above all else, and using the first opportunity to address the community, to spin the story where they are void of any accountability for what happened at Robb Elementary on May 24, 2022.

MOO

Well said. Him losing his instinct would explain a lot. I can't imagine an officer running into that situation without his only way to communicate. The thought about him needing both hands to hold his gun had crossed my mind but at the same time, most would figure out how to do both. That radio is almost as vital as the weapon.

 

[Dotta]

Well said. Him losing his instinct would explain a lot. I can't imagine an officer running into that situation without his only way to communicate. The thought about him needing both hands to hold his gun had crossed my mind but at the same time, most would figure out how to do both. That radio is almost as vital as the weapon.

Can't they just have earphones with a microphones just like smartphones?
A little radio strapped to the belt?

 

[Seattle1]

Can't they just have earphones with a microphones just like smartphones?
A little radio strapped to the belt?

I'd say for at least the last decade, most of the law enforcement officers I've seen wear their radios on their shoulders, and more recently, many wear headgear attached to their helmets. We've had a lot of rioting (unpeaceful protesters) in the last few years and I can't fathom our officers without a communication device on their person. JMO

 

[Seattle1]

In a phone interview with the Texas Tribune, Arredondo said he left two radios outside the school because he believed they would have slowed him down and that every second mattered.

One radio had a clip that may have fallen off his tactical belt, while another had an antenna that would have hit him as he ran, he told the Tribune.

However, the radios would have connected him to the campus and police networks, according to the outlet.

Arredondo said he also wanted both hands free to hold his gun so he could fire it more accurately.

Arredondo added that based on his prior experience, the radios didn't work well in some of the school buildings, and that he would have turned them off in the hallways to avoid being detected by the gunman.

Uvalde's school district police chief said he intentionally left his radios behind when responding to the mass shooting because he thought they would slow him down

The police chief said he wasn't aware that children and teachers were desperately calling 911 for help because he didn't have his radio with him.

www.yahoo.com

 

[tayaway]

I'd say for at least the last decade, most of the law enforcement officers I've seen wear their radios on their shoulders, and more recently, many wear headgear attached to their helmets. We've had a lot of rioting (unpeaceful protesters) in the last few years and I can't fathom our officers without a communication device on their person. JMO

Yes, those little shoulder clip on radios that they easily push with their hand! Did anybody else see the vid of the FL police, answering the call about a dog entering a buck store? All the officers appeared to wear those. It doesn't make sense to take your radio off, especially if you're going to the scene of a shooting.

In a phone interview with the Texas Tribune, Arredondo said he left two radios outside the school because he believed they would have slowed him down and that every second mattered.

One radio had a clip that may have fallen off his tactical belt, while another had an antenna that would have hit him as he ran, he told the Tribune.

However, the radios would have connected him to the campus and police networks, according to the outlet.

Arredondo said he also wanted both hands free to hold his gun so he could fire it more accurately.

Arredondo added that based on his prior experience, the radios didn't work well in some of the school buildings, and that he would have turned them off in the hallways to avoid being detected by the gunman.

Uvalde's school district police chief said he intentionally left his radios behind when responding to the mass shooting because he thought they would slow him down

The police chief said he wasn't aware that children and teachers were desperately calling 911 for help because he didn't have his radio with him.

www.yahoo.com

What, were they the size of 1980s cell phones?