The Uvalde CISD school board unanimously approved procedural rules for district police chief Pete Arredondo’s termination hearing and the district’s legal representation in closed session Monday night.
The board did not give a date for the hearing during the meeting.
When the board reconvened after the closed session, they briefed the remaining audience members about what was discussed.
The board plans to tell families privately the date for Arredondo’s termination hearing before making a public announcement.
During Monday night’s meeting, there was a 15-minute public forum at the beginning.
For the first time, someone defended the actions of police in the Robb Elementary School shooting that took the lives of 19 students and two teachers.
Pastor Gilbert Limones was one of the first people shot at by the shooter outside of Hillcrest Memorial Funeral Home.
Limones said the police acted with extreme caution, and the shooter was the only person responsible for the Robb Elementary tragedy. His words met with outrage from others in attendance at the meeting.
“I’m not here to disrespect the families that have lost a loved one. Trust me, I work at the funeral home. I was there helping them,” Limones said.
Someone in the audience could then be heard shouting: “Your three minutes is up. Your three minutes is up.”
As Limones was leaving, he was confronted by a parent and told he was pathetic. A Uvalde police officer escorted him out.
Since the shooting at Robb Elementary, the Uvalde community has criticized the school board for not holding Arredondo accountable and a lack of security at the school prior to the shooting, The Associated Press reports.
Arredondo is the chief of a six-person department, and he was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the Robb Elementary shooting — the worst school shooting in Texas history. Law enforcement waited over an hour before confronting the shooter, and the blame has largely fallen on Arredondo.
During Monday’s meeting, officials said there would be a grievance hearing for Superintendent Dr. Hal Harrell at 6 p.m. on Aug. 22.
Regular UCISD school board meetings are held on the third Monday each month, at 6:30 p.m. You can learn more here.
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