Uvalde police chief who delayed officer response to Texas capturing to join City Council

The police chief who reportedly made the call to not instantly send officers into Robb Elementary College to confront a gunman was elected to Uvalde's Metropolis Council just three weeks in the past after working on a platform of communication and outreach to the group. 

Peter Arredondo, the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, stopped at least 19 officers from breaking into the school because the gunman opened fireplace for at least an hour.

Arredondo believed that the shooter had barricaded himself and that the children were not below an active threat, Steven McCraw, the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, stated Friday. 

“From the advantage of hindsight the place I’m sitting now, in fact, it was not the suitable resolution. It was a flawed decision. Interval. There was no excuse for that,” McCraw said at a information convention. “There have been loads of officers to do what wanted to be performed, with one exception, is that the incident commander inside believed he wanted more equipment and extra officers to do a tactical breach at the moment."

In response to McCraw, Arredondo believed there was no energetic risk, so instead of sending officers in, he frolicked discovering keys that would let him into the school. Throughout this time, however, the shooter had unencumbered access to carry out the attack. Nineteen college students and two teachers were killed.

Arredondo was not present amongst law enforcement officers standing with McCraw on Friday, and McCraw didn't explicitly identify him.

Arredondo didn't immediately return a request for remark by NBC News.

Because the neighborhood calls for solutions and pieces collectively a shaky and conflicting timeline of events, scrutiny has turned to Arredondo, who was born and raised in Uvalde. 

After working as the police captain at the United Impartial School District in Laredo, Texas, about 140 miles south of Uvalde, Arredondo returned to his hometown in April 2020, when he accepted the place of chief of police for the Uvalde faculty district, according to the Uvalde Chief-Information.

The previous chief, Leo Flores, resigned after being arrested on expenses of unlawfully carrying a gun in a bar and threatening an officer, the newspaper reported. 

Arredondo informed the Leader-Information that he was desperate to serve the community, saying he was committed to establishing a powerful working relationship with the three officers he can be main. 

“We want to be certain that we are available wherever we're needed,” Arredondo told the newspaper.

As Arredondo’s tenure hit two years, his local likability led to a profitable bid for a City Council seat this month. He beat out three other candidates, garnering nearly 70 % of the vote in the Might 7 election, reported the Uvalde Chief-News. 

The chief campaigned, largely door-to-door, on communication and outreach “to those in need,” the newspaper stated. 

“I’m very excited, I'm able to hit the bottom running. I have loads of ideas, and I definitely have loads of drive,” Arredondo advised the outlet this month.

Arredondo is scheduled to be sworn onto the council on Tuesday, precisely one week after the Uvalde shooting.

Safia Samee Ali is a reporter for NBC News Digital, based mostly in Chicago.