Uvalde releases footage of missing Robb Elementary police

UVALDE, Texas — Dozens more dashcam and bodycam videos from officers who responded to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting were released Tuesday, largely confirming previous reports and investigations highlighting law enforcement’s failure to confront the shooter have been described in detail.

The new materials include at least 10 police body camera videos and nearly 40 dashboard videos, according to ProPublica. A 30-minute video shows officers providing medical supplies to triage victims. However, the scene becomes even more chaotic once officers enter the classroom and realize the extent of the attack. The video shows the victims being carried out of the classroom and officers can be heard coughing, crying and stepping back to take deep breaths. The video also shows an officer on a sidewalk performing chest compressions on a victim.

In another video, an officer with a body camera cries and tells someone on the phone, “They’re just kids. It’s crazy. I just never thought something like this would happen here.” Other footage shows desperate parents gathered outside the building, begging officers to go inside.

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In one clip, an officer approaches Ruben Ruiz, a former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District (UCISD) officer, and hugs him. Ruiz’s wife, Eva Mireles, was among the two teachers and 19 students killed.

“She’s a fighter, bro. You know that. You know that. She is strong. God is with her,” the officer tells Ruiz. “I love you. She has this.”

Mireles called her husband from the classroom during the attack, the NY Post previously reported. Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, testified that Ruiz tried to get into the classroom to save his wife, but his gun was taken away and he was “escorted” from the scene.

Official Questions Decision Not To Initiate Violation Against Robb Elementary School Classes

Many of the videos show dozens of officers lined up in a school hallway, waiting to enter adjacent classrooms for more than an hour after the gunman first entered the building. Officers can be heard asking why no one has gone in yet.

“How many shots have been fired since he was cornered?” And no one went in? Pete did it? And then? “Where is Pete?” an officer asked, seemingly asking for UCISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo.

Another officer responds, “I’m not a SWAT member and I’m not pressing charges, bro.”

According to the school district’s active shooter plan, Arredondo was expected to take command.

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New videos released after officials notify Uvalde police chief of missing footage

More than two years ago, media organizations including ProPublica, The Texas Tribune and FRONTLINE sued several local and state agencies to release records related to the shooting. The city of Uvalde eventually reached an agreement with the news organizations and reportedly released all records on August 10th. Two days later, an officer told Uvalde Police Chief Homer Delgado that some of his body camera footage was not included in the release, according to NEWS4SA.

The city of Uvalde released a statement Tuesday attributing the withholding of the footage to a UPD officer.

“Immediately after UPD Chief Homer Delgado was made aware of additional UPD footage from May 24, 2022 that had not been released, he ordered an internal investigation to determine the cause of the oversight. The internal investigation determined that, in addition to technical issues, there was also an inadvertent lack of proper due diligence on the part of the officer serving as custodian of UPD records,” the statement said. “The officer was disciplined as a result of the internal investigation and subsequently resigned from the UPD. The investigation found no evidence of intentional withholding of information. UPD is working diligently to correct its own internal record-keeping policies and procedures, as well as any outstanding technical issues, to ensure such an oversight does not occur again.”

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The Uvalde Leader-News reported last month that former city police sergeant Donald Page faced disciplinary action over the withheld footage and subsequently resigned. Page oversaw operations, including dispatch and evidence technicians.

Three other government agencies — the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District and the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office — are still fighting the release of their records, The Texas Tribune reports. Former Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin on Tuesday praised Uvalde police for releasing the footage and urged other law enforcement agencies to do the same.

“This should have been done from day one,” he said. “I was frustrated when I found out we had missed something, but everyone has to get their stuff out there. This is the only way these families can find closure.”

Robb Elementary gets a new name

Also on Tuesday, it was announced during a UCISD board meeting that the school that will replace Robb Elementary will be named Legacy Elementary, Spectrum Local News reports. Board members unanimously approved the recommendation, which was presented by a naming committee made up of victims’ family members, UCISD faculty and various community members nominated by the board. The group met for eleven months to choose a name.

Olivia Guerrero-Rish, chairwoman of the committee, said during the meeting that the name Legacy Elementary stood out among the other two final contenders after receiving a total of 21 votes — the number of people who died in the shooting.

“We were in awe that there were 21 votes. And the symbolism led the committee to vote unanimously on the named name for the new elementary school,” she said. “A legacy is something we leave behind. A lasting impact and the way the 21st century [victims] will be remembered by future generations. Those we loved and lost will be remembered forever.”