Uvalde school district suspends its entire police department
UVALDE, Texas (CBS) — The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District announced on Friday that it has decided to temporarily suspend all activities of its police department nearly four months after the deadly shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 children and two teachers dead.
The district said in a statement on Oct. 7, 2022 that investigations uncovered new concerns about how the department operates.
As a result, the department was suspended until further notice and two officers - Lt. Miguel Hernandez and Ken Mueller - were placed on administrative leave. Mueller instead opted to retire.
Other officers in the department will fill other roles around the district for the time being.
A day earlier, on Oct. 6, Uvalde school officials fired a former Texas state trooper who was on scene of the Robb Elementary School massacre in May and then hired by the school district after protests by parents.
Pete Arredondo, the district's former chief of police, was fired in August over his department's botched response to the shooting.
The district reiterated that it is continuing to work with the Texas Police Chiefs Association as they conduct their review of the department. A spokesperson said that the report, which is expected to be issued later this month, will help them rebuild the department and hire a new Chief of Police.
A private group hired by the district, JPPI Investigations, is also continuing their review of UCISD police officers' response to the Robb Elementary shooting. The district said that their investigation will help the district make future personnel decisions.
In the mean time, the district said it has requested that the Texas Department of Public Safety provide additional officers on campuses and to extracurricular activities.