“This is the best decision”: Uvalde school police chief Pete Arredondo resigns from city council a month after shooting

Uvalde School District police chief, Pete Arredondo, has resigned from the Community City Council. His decision to resign comes just a month after he was sworn in.

In his resignation letter, dated July 1, Arredondo said:

"After much consideration, I regret to inform those who voted for me that I have decided to step down as a member of the city council for District 3. The mayor, the city council, and the city staff must continue to move forward without distractions. I feel this is the best decision for Uvalde."

He further added that his decision to leave the council was "to minimize further distractions" for the city. He also urged the community to "continue to support the families, continue to support our community and, above all, to keep strong in our faith."

Council officials confirmed that they received the resignation letter on Saturday. They also agreed that Arredondo’s decision to step down was the "right thing to do."

Just a week before Arredondo's resignation, the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District sent him on administrative leave on June 22. This was until investigations into the school shooting were completed.

Arredondo was severely criticized for the delay in response to the school shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School on May 24.

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Uvalde police’s response was an 'abject failure': Col. Steve McCraw

In the aftermath of the school shooting, Arredondo's decision as an incident commander was heavily scrutinized by the public and rebuked by the Texas Department of Public Safety.

This was especially so because the police arrived three minutes after Salvador Ramos entered the school. The delayed reaction caused the loss of more innocent lives.

Colonel Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, called out Arredondo for making "terrible decisions." McCraw stated that the police response was an "abject failure."

Speaking about the incident, McCraw said:

"The only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated officers from entering rooms 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander who decided to place the lives of officers before the lives of children."

Arredondo, who has worked in law enforcement for nearly 30 years, has avoided dealing with the media ever since the Uvalde school mass shooting.

The Uvalde police chief did not make many public statements. But he did clarify that he never considered himself the on-scene commander. He also stated that he did not instruct officers to refrain from breaching the classrooms.

Concerning his time on the city council, Arredondo has not been quite as punctual. He did not attend any public meetings, missing the first two city council meetings of his tenure.

This prompted the Uvalde City Council to unanimously vote against granting Arredondo a leave of absence from appearing at public meetings. It is possible that his repeated absence could have become a primary reason for his removal from office.

Arredondo was elected to the District 3 council position on May 7 and was sworn into the role on May 31, just seven days after the May 24 school shooting.