Texas on Tuesday, days after a city council report found misconduct by several police officers in a slow law enforcement response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that killed 19 children and two teachers. The Uvalde Police Chief has announced his resignation.
“After much thought and consideration, I believe the time is right to embark on a new chapter in my career,” Secretary Daniel Rodriguez said in a statement.
“I have had the privilege of serving the City of Uvalde and its residents for the past 26 years and have been honored to lead the dedicated men and women of the Police Department,” he continued.
In his statement, Rodriguez did not address reports of school shootings or the shooting itself. His resignation will take effect on April 6th.
Uvalde Mayor Cody Smith said he is “grateful” for Rodriguez's “service to the community.”
Deputy Police Chief Homer Delgado will be appointed interim police chief.
Last week, a Uvalde City Council report said an analysis found police waited 77 minutes for tactical equipment to arrive while students were locked in classrooms during the May 24, 2022, shooting. The executive agency was found to have committed misconduct.
Nineteen students and two teachers were killed, and 17 others were injured. The gunman died after a confrontation with police.
Jesse Prado, an Austin-based investigator and former detective who wrote the report, said there were clear communication issues between Uvalde School District police and responding officers.
“The officers were on the phone and had no way of knowing what was being planned or what was being said,” former Uvalde School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo said in the Prado newspaper. . It also found no evidence that the city's police department, which is the focus of the investigation, committed any wrongdoing or lacked training.
In January, the U.S. Department of Justice blamed the law enforcement response on a lack of leadership on the scene and a failure to follow acknowledged police procedures.
The council report's findings angered many residents who attended last week's meeting.
Kimberly Mata-Rubio, who lost her 10-year-old daughter Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio, told the City Council. “How do you all live?”
“How do you go to bed at night and wake up every day? Shame on you guys. Did they say they did it in good faith? Do you call it good faith? They stood there for 77 minutes and said that the kids were still “I was waiting for phone calls to come in saying that he was alive,” she continued. “This is all a pact. It's a brotherly promise. You take care of yourself.”
Ruben Zamora, the father of mass shooting survivor Maya Zamora, said his daughter was “left for dead.”
