The board was originally scheduled to consider Arredondo’s employment status on July 23, but the matter was adjourned twice at the request of Arredondo’s attorney and was eventually adjourned to Wednesday..
Arredondo will not appear at the meeting, according to a 17-page press release sent to the school board by his attorney.
In the statement released less than an hour before the meeting was scheduled to start, attorney George Hyde accused the board of failing to follow proper procedure in pursuing a possible dismissal of Arredondo.
Hyde argues that a letter from the district suspending him without pay does not count as an official « complaint » required by law to consider dismissal.
« Chief Arredondo will not participate in his own unlawful and unconstitutional public lynching and respectfully requests the Board to immediately reinstate him, with all back pay and benefits and to close the complaint as unfounded, » the statement concluded.
The meeting began with comments from members of the public, some of whom called on Arredondo, who is on unpaid leave, to return his badge.
Council members said Texas law requires the chief’s employment status hearing to be held behind closed doors. The agenda for the meeting says the board will return to open session for « discussion and possible action. »
Arredondo has come under intense public scrutiny for the police response to the May 24 massacre, America’s deadliest shooting since 2012.
The superintendent of schools in Uvalde recommended Arredondo’s dismissal. State officials identified Arredondo as the on-scene police commander, although he said he did not consider himself responsible.
The assailant remained in two adjacent classrooms for more than an hour before officers entered the rooms and killed him, authorities said. The delay contradicts widely taught protocol for active shooter situations that call for police to immediately stop the threat and came even when the children inside repeatedly called 911 and asked for help.
In his statement for Arredondo, Hyde says the chief was not told between June 22 and July 19 of a school district investigation and was not asked to participate or make a statement.
« The district cannot withhold its information for months, present only what it finds to support the superintendent, and then release it without a reasonable opportunity to review it, and the opportunity to uncover evidence of impeachment. or optional completeness. »
Wednesday’s meeting comes after heated school board sessions in which parents demanded the firing of Arredondo and other members of the school system, and after several instances in which officials criticized the police response to the shooting during hearings and a Texas House investigative report.
Report describes ‘nonchalant approach’ by law enforcement
During a hearing before the Texas Senate on June 21, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety called the police response an « abject failure. » The director, Colonel Steven McCraw, blamed the failure on Arredondo, whom state authorities identified as the on-scene commander. The on-scene commander, McCraw said, was « the only thing » stopping officers from entering classrooms to engage the shooter.
But Arredondo told a Texas House investigative committee that he did not consider himself the commander of the incident – echoing comments he made to the Texas Tribune in June.
In a preliminary report released July 17, the Texas House panel laid blame more broadly, outlining a series of failures by multiple law enforcement agencies.
The 77-page report describes « a nonchalant overall approach » from the 376 local, state and federal law enforcement officers who responded and were at the school.
« There is no one to whom malicious or malicious intent can be attributed, » the report said. « Instead, we found systemic failures and grossly poor decision-making. »
The report also notes that others could have taken command. Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training « teaches that any law enforcement officer can assume command, someone must assume command, and an incident commander can transfer responsibility as and as an incident develops,” the report said.
“This did not happen at Robb Elementary, and the lack of effective incident command was a major factor in other vital actions not being taken,” according to the report.
In that report, Arredondo said his approach was to « respond as a police officer » and therefore « did not call myself. »
However, at least one of the officers who responded expressed the belief that Arredondo was leading the law enforcement response inside the school, telling others that the “chief is in charge,” according to a timeline of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Following heavy criticism, Uvalde School District Superintendent Hal Harrell placed Arredondo — who has served as the school district’s police chief since March 2020 — on leave from his position as school police chief on 22 June.
Separately, Arredondo resigned from his position on the Uvalde city council in early July, and the council accepted the resignation on July 12.
‘Too little, too late’
At a July 18 school board meeting – a day after the House report was released – an uncle of one of the children killed angrily asked why Arredondo was still employed.
« Why the hell does he still have a job with you? » Brett Cross, an uncle of 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia, asked the board, adding that he wanted the members to resign if Arredondo was not fired the next day. « Because you all don’t care about our children or us. Stay with us or against us, because we’re not going anywhere. »
To fire Arredondo now, Cross told CNN later that week, would be « too little, too late. » Cross, who had raised Uziyah as his son before the child was killed in the shooting, and other members of the community called for the school’s superintendent, board and police department to be replaced.
At a meeting on Monday evening, the school board met to consider complaints from parents asking for the superintendent’s removal. The board passed a motion that, in part, requires the superintendent to provide the board with names or organizations that could review the district’s administrative accountability practices.
Some community members present – including Cross – expressed anger at the end of the meeting, with some saying it took three hours to accomplish nothing.
« Come on Wednesday, » Cross said as he and others left Monday’s meeting. « I’m sick of this bullshit. »
CNN’s Eric Levenson, Rosa Flores, Matthew J. Friedman, Christina Maxouris, Shimon Prokupecz and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.
