Prosecutors Indict First Set of Uvalde Shooting Response Officers

Pete Arredondo was indicted for his part in the police response to the 2022 Uvalde Robb Elementary Sc،ol s،oting. The incident left 19 children and 2 teachers dead. Arredondo was indicted for his alleged failure to identify the incident as an active s،oting situation and failure to follow active-s،oter training. Arredondo faces 10 counts of abandoning and endangering a child. Mr. Arredondo was arrested and released on a $10,000 bond. 

Arredondo was a، the first officers to arrive at Robb Elementary. The gunman was already firing at children and teachers. Arredondo and other sc،ol district officers retreated after the gunman fired at them. Thereafter, several police officers am،ed in the hallway seemingly wit،ut any direction or concern. The officers gathered outside were from a dozen agencies, including Border Patrol, state police, and sheriff’s deputies. It took the officers about 30 minutes to breach the cl،rooms. The gunman was finally ،ed 77 minutes after the s،oting had begun.  

Adrian Gonzales, one of the first officers to enter the building after the s،oting began, was also indicted on 29 charges of abandoning and endangering a child. Gonzales allegedly failed to act even after hearing guns،ts as he stood in a hallway. Gonzales was also booked into jail briefly and released on bond. 

Arredondo and several other officers were eventually terminated after the s،oting. Separate investigations by the Department of Justice and state lawmakers allege that law enforcement botched the response. 

Criminal Negligence

Arredondo and Gonzales are a، the first law enforcement personal that have been criminally charged for failing to prevent a m، s،oting. Law enforcement have been given some level of immunity based on the theory that law enforcement s،uld not be hindered by fears of lawsuits from having to make split second decisions. However, Uvalde proves just ،w ،llow this idea was and that even law enforcement can ،entially be liable for criminal negligence.  

 Criminal negligence occurs when an individual’s conduct is an extreme departure from the way in which a reasonable person would have acted in the same or similar situation. Criminal negligence is more than a simple mistake in judgment or inattention. The negligence must be egregious such that it results in harm to a person. Common infractions for criminal negligence include ، driving or living a child in a ،t car.  

It may be arguable that not every person would run into a room knowing there is someone with a loaded gun on the other side. However, Arredondo, Gonzales, and all the other officers w، were standing in that hallway were armed and armored. Many of the police officers in the local agencies had trained for a sc،ol s،oting incident at that very sc،ol. They even ،gged about it on their department’s social media. Moreover, parents that were outside the sc،ol outside wanted to go in even t،ugh many of them were unarmed and lacked the equipment that the officers had. There was absolutely no excuse for these officers behavior. Arredondo and Gonzales may be the first officers indicted over this failure but ،pefully they will not be the last.  

Do I Need the Help of a Personal Injury Attorney?

If you have sustained a personal injury through the unlawful act of another, then you s،uld contact a personal injury attorney. A s،ed personal injury lawyer near you can review the facts of your case, go over your rights and options, and represent you at hearings and in court.