The state police chief of Texas rejected calls for his resignation on Thursday, stating that his organization “did not fail” Uvalde in its response to the Robb Elementary School killing.
Steve McCraw, the head of the Texas Department of Public Safety, or DPS, stated, “If DPS, as an organization, has failed the families, the school, or the town of Uvalde, then I must resign immediately.”
“However, I can tell you this immediately. DPS as an institution has not failed the community at this time, plain and simple “McCraw stated.
He was addressing parents and relatives of the shooting victims during an Austin Public Safety Commission meeting, where he was questioned about why police waited more than 70 minutes before entering the fourth-grade classroom to neutralize the shooter.
During the attack, two teachers and 19 children were slain.
Several distraught family members demanded McCraw’s resignation from the podium. Roland Gutierrez, a Republican state senator who attended the meeting, also demanded that McCraw resign.
In response, McCraw stated that he would not assert that the DPS is “without blame.”
In a meandering 15-minute address, he criticized different aspects of police enforcement’s behavior at the shooting — as he has done numerous times in the past — and apologized for providing the public with false information following the incident.
“I never, ever expect forgiveness,” McCraw stated.
Last month, McCraw told CNN that he would be “the first to quit” if his agency was found to have “any responsibility” in the botched reaction to the shooting.
According to The Texas Tribune, on October 21, the DPS discharged Sgt. Juan Maldonado, the highest-ranking state trooper who initially responded to the Uvalde incident. The dismissal followed a DPS investigation into the conduct of its officers at the school.
The Tribune claimed that Maldonado is the first Texas state trooper to be fired due to the incident.
Uncle of one of the murdered children, Uziyah Garcia, Brett Cross, contested McCraw’s statement to CNN.
“Your officers arrived within ten minutes, right? Are they not departmental representatives? Consequently, they failed, so DPS failed “Cross said. “Consequently, there is responsibility. If you are a man of your word, you would thus quit.”
“Are you an honorable man?” Cross questioned McCraw.
“Absolutely,” McCraw responded.
Then resign, said Cross.
Later, when he addressed one of the families, “I’m sorry for your loss,” McCraw appeared to exacerbate the families’ anger.
One woman in the throng can be heard stating, “You did not just say that.”
The failure of local authorities to provide victims’ families with timely and accurate information regarding the police response to the massacre was a source of frustration for a number of victims’ relatives.
“Every time, it appears like lies, misinformation, and roadblocks follow one another. You cannot initiate the healing procedure “said Jesse Rizzo, the uncle of 10-year-old Jacklyn Cazares, who was shot and died at school.
Two months after the incident, in July, the DPS initiated an internal investigation of its troopers’ behavior. According to a report by the Texas House, of the 376 law enforcement professionals who responded to the incident, 91 state troopers were identified at the scene.
The Texas Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Insider.