CNN reporter Shimon Prokupecz confronted Uvalde Independent School District Police Chief Pedro Arredondo on Wednesday in an attempt to get answers about decisions that he allegedly made in responding to last week’s tragedy in Uvalde, Texas.
The confrontation came after an 18-year-old Latino, who had a history of violence toward people and animals, murdered 19 children at Robb Elementary School.
“We’re not going to release anything, we have people in our community being buried,” Arredondo said. “We’re going to be respectful … we’re going to be respectful to the families.”
“I just want your reaction to Director McCraw saying that you were responsible for the decision to go into that room, how do you explain yourself to the parents?” Prokupecz asked. “I understand that, but you have an opportunity to explain yourself to the parents.”
“We’re going to do that eventually, obviously,” Arredondo responded.
“When?” Prokupecz asked.
“Whenever this is done, we’ll let the families quit grieving, then we’ll do that obviously,” said Arredondo. “Just so everybody knows, we have been in contact with DPS every day, just so you all know, every day.”
Prokupecz pressed Arredondo over the Texas Department of Public Safety saying that the Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde Independent School District police were no longer cooperating with its investigation into their response to the shooting.
“They say you’re not cooperating,” Prokupecz said.
“I’ve been on the phone with them every day,” Arredondo claimed.
“They say you’re not cooperating,” Prokupecz repeated.
“Just so you know, we have been talking to them every day,” Arredondo insisted.
WATCH:
CNN’s @ShimonPro confronts Uvalde schools police chief Peter Arredondo for the force's decision to not cooperate with investigations into the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting. pic.twitter.com/4DPocsn8OB
— The Recount (@therecount) June 1, 2022
The Uvalde school district has hosted in at least two active-shooter training days over the last two years, including one earlier this year.
The training stated that a police officer’s first priority when responding to a school shooting was to “move in and confront the attacker” to put a stop to the killing.
The training stated that “the short duration and high casualty rates produced by these events requires immediate response to reduce the loss of life. In many cases that immediate response means a single (solo) officer response until such times as other forces can arrive. The best hope that innocent victims have is that officers immediately move into action to isolate, distract or neutralize the threat, even if that means one officer acting alone.”
“First responders to the active shooter scene will usually be required to place themselves in harm’s way and display uncommon acts of courage to save the innocent,” the training said. “A first responder unwilling to place the lives of the innocent above their own safety should consider another career field.”