AUSTIN — The Texas state senator who represents Uvalde questioned Tuesday whether the Texas Department of Public Safety can be trusted to review its own officers’ actions during the Robb Elementary School shooting.
DPS announced an internal review Monday into the actions of the 91 state police officers who responded to the May 24 shooting. In a letter to Lt. Gov Dan Patrick on Monday, Sen. Roland Gutierrez called for the Texas Senate to take control of the DPS review.
“First, why has DPS decided to conduct this internal audit now, 55 days after the attack on Robb Elementary School? Secondly, can this entity be trusted to review its own inaction and failures on May 24, 2022?” Gutierrez said in a letter to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
DPS spokeswoman Ericka Miller said in an email that the Texas Rangers’ ongoing criminal investigation has included reviewing the actions of all law enforcement who responded to the shooting “from the very beginning.”
“The criminal investigation always takes precedent but is typically followed by a comprehensive administrative review of this nature,” Miller said in an email.
Gutierrez wants the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice to oversee the DPS probe. He said doing so would ensure that DPS conducts a thorough investigation.
“We owe the families in Uvalde nothing short of complete honesty and accountability,” Gutierrez said in a letter to Patrick. “To date, we have failed these families and my constituents are demanding a full accounting of the horrors of that day.
“It is our duty to ensure that the families receive answers and that every Texas never has to worry about this kind of public safety failure again,” he said.
DPS launched an internal review of its response to the shooting last week as a special investigative committee in the Texas House prepared to release its findings.
DPS Director Steven McGraw described the police response to the shooting as an “abject failure.” Most blame has been laid at the feet of local law enforcement, with local residents demanding the firing of Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde schools police chief. Arredondo and the city of Uvalde’s acting police chief have been placed on leave while numerous investigations into the police response continue.
But in the aftermath of the report, more focus is being directed at state and federal police, who outnumbered local police at the scene. Gutierrez has questioned why no one from state law enforcement took command of a response that the report described as chaotic and disorganized.
“You got 91 troopers on the scene. You got all the equipment you could possibly want, and you’re listening to the local school cop?” Gutierrez told The Associated Press on Monday.
The DPS review is being headed by Deputy Director Jeoff Williams. The committee is reviewing the actions of every DPS officer who responded to the school shooting, according to a spokeswoman.
