Uvalde mayor defends local police, says Lt. Gov. Patrick’s claim that he was lied to is ‘not true’
As the criticism of the police response to last week’s Texas school shooting deepens, Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin says local law enforcement has not misled anyone and Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s claims that he was lied to are “not true.”
Immediately following the shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead, a slew of Texas officials praised the law enforcement response to the tragedy.
“They showed amazing courage by running toward gunfire for the singular purpose of trying to save lives,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at a press conference in Uvalde alongside Patrick on Wednesday, about 24 hours after the shooting.
That praise was quickly recanted later in the week as more details about the police response came to light, including that 19 officers were outside the elementary school for about an hour before a Border Patrol team breached the classroom and killed the suspect.
Patrick told Fox News on Saturday that law enforcement’s choice not to immediately confront the shooter was a “bad decision, and that decision cost lives.”
“No one mentioned the fact that there was this 45-minute-to-an-hour hold by the chief of the police of the school district while there were still shots being fired,” Patrick said.
“I take this personally, and I know the governor takes it personally. And for me, it’s 140 or 150 people killed in Texas in the last six or seven years of collective anger when we’re not told the truth.”
Uvalde School District police chief Pete Arredondo was the incident commander on scene who made the “wrong decision” not to immediately confront the suspect because he “believed that it had transitioned from an active shooter to a barricaded subject,” Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said.
McLaughlin said Monday that local law enforcement has not misled Patrick or any other officials.
“Local law enforcement has not made any public comments about the specifics of the investigation into the incident or [misled] anyone,” McLaughlin said in an emailed statement to Fox News Digital on Monday.
“Statements by Lt. Governor Dan Patrick that he was ‘not told the truth’ are not true. All statements and comments made to date about the ongoing investigation are being handled by DPS/Texas Rangers.”
McLaughlin also appeared to stand by the school police chief, saying that Arredondo, who was elected to the city council earlier this month, can still be sworn in when the ceremony takes place.
Patrick said Monday that he is focused on supporting the mayor and the community of Uvalde following the tragedy.
“My goal at this time is to support Mayor McLaughlin and the citizens of Uvalde. The governor and I were both livid at the information initially given to Texas DPS,” Patrick told Fox News Digital on Monday evening. “I think the mayor has done an excellent job at a very difficult time and my focus continues to be on the families.”
The Department of Justice announced Sunday that it is conducting an independent investigation into the police response at the request of the mayor.
“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 DOJ said in a statement.
