The police department for the Uvalde, Texas, school district has been suspended, officials announced Friday, more than four months after a mass shooting that killed 19 people Children and two teachers. The decision was taken amid the agency’s ongoing investigations and its response to the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School.
Anne Marie Espinoza, executive director of communications and marketing for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD), said in a statement that the department was suspended due to “recent developments” that “disclosed new concerns with the department’s operations”. it was done.”
She said that UCISD police officers “will serve in various capacities in the district.” Two departmental officers, Lieutenant Miguel Hernández and Ken Muller, were placed on administrative leave. According to Espinoza, Mueller then chose to resign.
During the suspension of the Uvalde Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety will supply troops to protect the safety of students and teachers at Uvalde Schools.
“We are sure that the safety of staff and students will not be put at risk during this transition,” Espinoza said.
The UCISD Police Department, which has been heavily criticized since the day of the incident, is still being evaluated by a number of external bodies.
In July, a damning investigation sparked criticism of “very poor judgment” by law enforcement personnel, who waited more than an hour before addressing the 18-year-old shooter. Campus Police Chief Pete Arredondo was fired in August.
And on Thursday, a former Texas state soldier who was hired by UCISD after the incident ended. Crimson Elisondo was one of more than 90 state servicemen and more than 400 law enforcement officers who went to Rob Elementary during the tragedy, but inside a fourth-grade classroom of a shooter with an AR-15-style rifle. There was a delay of over an hour before encountering.
Espinoza said Tuesday that the district is cooperating with the Texas Police Chiefs Association, which will “manage the rebuilding of the department and the recruitment of a new police chief,” she said. This month is the last date of the report.
The response of the UCISD Police Department to the shooting is still under investigation. “The results of the investigation will influence future personnel decisions,” Espinoza said.
“The district is dedicated to resolve the issues with verifiable evidence,” he said.