Today the school district in Uvalde, Texas announced the suspension of its entire police force after the country united in bipartisan scrutiny of their actions following the tragic shooting in May.
National news reports that the department suspended the entire district police force on Friday, and requested more Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to be stationed at its schools.
It’s unclear if the suspension is permanent, but ABC News reported the district is “confident” both “staff and student safety will not be compromised during this transition.”
A total of 19 students and two teachers were killed while 17 more who were wounded when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos gained access to Robb Elementary School in Uvalde Texas on May 24 of this year.
While the country struggled to comprehend the brutality of the tragedy in May, the next month many Americans became fixated on viral videos recorded by the school’s security cameras. They appeared to show officers applying hand sanitizer and sitting sit idly, passing time with their personal smartphones, outside the classroom where the Ramos continued his rampage.
Good to know that while kids were dying in Uvalde that officers in the hallway still had time to use hand sanitizer. Can't be too safe. pic.twitter.com/KzdrWyNDY2
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) July 12, 2022
An investigation was ultimately launched, and multiple state and local officials condemned the lack of action on behalf of the town’s police.
Only days after the incident, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw told the media that the responding officers did not behave appropriately.
“There were plenty of officers to do whatever needed to be done with one exception,” McCraw said during a May press conference held shortly after the shooting.
He explained that police action failed to materialize because “The incident commander inside believed they needed more equipment or more officers to do a tactical breach” of the classroom.
NOW – Texas official says "it was not the right decision" to delay sending in law enforcement into the school.pic.twitter.com/YUTKDIJBOm
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) May 27, 2022
Officials had previously indicated that any personnel decisions would come following formal conclusions to at least one of the investigations into the police department, but and those involved with the decision told the press that it was made after new information came to light.
According to ABC News, again quoting the district, the entire police department had to go after “recent developments have uncovered additional concerns with department operations.”
Today’s news comes on the heel of another tragic mass fatality event, this time in Thailand, where at least 22 children where shot or stabbed by an ex police officer yesterday.
