Texas Police Chief Pete Arredondo has resigned from his seat in the Uvalde City Council about a month after being sworn into the position.
Uvalde city leaders said they received his official letter of resignation late Saturday afternoon after learning the news from The Uvalde Leader-News.
Uvalde Schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo Steps Down ‘To Minimize Further Distractions’
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“After much consideration, it is in the best interest of the community to step down as a member of the City Council for District 3 to minimize further distractions,” Arredondo said in his letter. “The Mayor, the City Council, and the City Staff must continue to move forward to unite our community, once again.”
The news of his resignation comes after Arredondo became the central figure in a series of fatal mistakes, which included the decision to avoid confronting an 18-year-old gunman, in responding to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that consequently left 19 children and two teachers dead on May 24.
Arredondo was elected to represent District 3 in the local City Council on May 7 and was officially sworn in a week after the school shooting.
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About a week after the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District placed him on administrative leave on June 22, Arredondo is finally stepping down from the city council.
Hal Harrell, the superintendent of the Uvalde school system, said in a statement he was waiting on investigations into the mass shootings to be completed when Arredondo was placed on leave.
“Today, I am still without details of the investigations being conducted by various agencies,” he said. “Because of the lack of clarity that remains and the unknown timing of when I will receive the results of the investigations, I have made the decision to place Chief Arredondo on administrative leave effective on this date.”
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Lt. Mike Hernandez took over the duties of chief, Harrell said.
State authorities have described Arredondo as the incident commander during the school carnage however, Arredondo has said he did not consider himself to be the officer in charge.
Officials have said Arredondo incorrectly treated the gunman as a barricaded suspect instead of an active shooter. And after over an hour, federal agents entered the room and fatally shot the gunman.
Currently, federal and state agencies are investigating the police response.