Uvalde Police Face Backlash after School Shooting Response
UPDATE: May 31, 11:40 a.m. Central Time
Local Law Enforcement Face Backlash after Response to Elementary Shooting
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Sunday, May 29, that it will be conducting a review of local law enforcement’s response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School last week. The review comes at the request of Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, according to a press release.
“The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day, and to identify lessons learned and best practices to help first responders prepare for and respond to active shooter events. The review will be conducted with the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing,” read the statement.
“As with prior Justice Department after-action reviews of mass shootings and other critical incidents, this assessment will be fair, transparent, and independent. The Justice Department will publish a report with its findings at the conclusion of its review.”
The announcement comes two days after a press conference held by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in which he said he was “misled” regarding law enforcement’s initial response to the gunman. “I am livid about what happened,” said Gov. Abbott on Friday, May 28. “The information I was given turned out, in part, to be inaccurate, and I am absolutely livid about that.”
Texas Department of Public Safety Col. Steven McCraw said Friday that, in hindsight, officers should have entered the classroom sooner instead of waiting for over an hour. McCraw said that as many as 19 local and federal officers were in the hallway outside the classroom for most of that time. McCraw said that the school district’s chief of police wanted to wait for backup and equipment.
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