On Wednesday evening, the Uvalde school board voted unanimously to fire police chief Pete Arredondo, who was in charge of the scene at Robb Elementary School on May 24 when a shooter killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers.
In Benson Board Room 601, Uvalde citizens were given the opportunity to comment before the school board decided Arredondo's fate. The hearing was streamed online and open to the public.
Those in the crowd were told to keep their comments respectful and under 1 minute. Community members voiced their anger and frustration with the school board and law enforcement in the wake of the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.
"Do not, do not take this into closed sessions. We deserve to hear," one citizen said. "Our babies are dead. Our teachers are dead. Our parents are dead. The least ya'll can do is show us the respect to do this in the public."
The most emotional comment of the evening came from 10-year-old Caitlyne Gonzalez, who attended Robb Elementary School. She lost two of her best friends in the shooting.
“I’m here today to make a statement: If law enforcement’s job is to protect and serve, why didn’t they protect and serve my friends and teachers on May 24?” the little girl said. “I have messages for Pete Arredondo and all the law enforcement there that day. Turn in your badge and step down. You don’t deserve to wear one.”
The emotional and seething testimony from the crowd focused on both the board and law enforcement, as community members called for transparency from the board, blamed the board for three months of inaction and demanded Arredondo be fired immediately.
"You guys don't care about these families," one man said. "You don't care squat about these families. If it was one of your children, heads would be rolling right now. But because it's not, you don't care.
Our babies are dead. Our teachers are dead. Our parents are dead. The least ya’ll can do is show us the respect to do this in the public.
Uvalde community member
"You're not going to sweep this under the rug," he continued. "You're all accountable. When that special report came out, I mentioned at the time that I was here, three main failures. Number one: School administration, right there. Right there!"
The man then pointed to the school board members.
A report released in July by a Texas House committee blamed law enforcement and the school district for “systemic failures and egregiously poor decision making." The same report found that Arredondo failed to adequately take on “his preassigned responsibility of incident command."
"You guys dropped the ball. You messed up," the man continued. "And you don't have the audacity to say, 'We messed up and Arredondo is gone — out of here. That's why we are the way we are."
After arriving at the scene at Robb Elementary school, law enforcement waited 77 minutes to enter the classrooms where the shooting place and engage the shooter. Nearly 400 law enforcement officers were on scene.
The same July report said law enforcement "failed to prioritize saving innocent lives over their own safety." Experts believe some of the children and teachers who died that day could have been saved if law enforcement had acted sooner.
Arredondo was not present at the school board hearing, claiming via his lawyers that he has received death threats and did not feel safe attending in person.
"We have just been told that Mr. Arredondo is not going to be here because he doesn't feel safe," one citizen told the board.
A member of the crowed interrupted the gentlemen, shouting "coward."
"Exactly," the man replied.
Arredondo's lawyer, George Hyde, said that Arredondo “will not participate in his own illegal and unconstitutional public lynching" and argued that Arredondo is a victim of Uvalde community members who cannot direct their ire at the shooter, who was killed by law enforcement.
Hyde argued those in the crowd seek “more retribution by identifying a new target to focus their grief on, with the belief that it will help them stop hurting."
If law enforcement’s job is to protect and serve, why didn’t they protect and serve my friends and teachers on May 24?
10-year-old Caitlyne Gonzalez
Despite public opposition and calls for transparency, the board did enter in a closed session to discuss Arredondo's fate, citing the Texas Open Meetings Act, which states that personnel discussions will be closed unless the employee or subject of the deliberation or hearing requests a public hearing.
Arredondo made no such request.
After over an hour of deliberation, the school board members returned to the stage to announce their decision.
"Mr. Board President, I move that good cause does exist to terminate the non-certified contract of Pete Arredondo effective immediately," one board member said.
The crowd erupted in applause.
The school board also moved to "ratify the unpaid leave status" of Arredondo and authorized the superintended to issue a "written notice to Mr. Arredondo of this board action, including filing any needed reports required by the termination."
The board passed the motion unanimously — a vote met by more crowd applause and shouting.
Jazmine Cazare, whose sister was killed in the shooting, tweeted that while she appreciated the school board for "finally listening," she was not "going to applaud them for doing something that should have been done months ago."
