UVALDE, Texas – A former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer who was part of law enforcement’s slow response to 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School pleaded not guilty during a court hearing on Thursday.
Adrian Gonzales was one of nearly 400 officers who responded to the scene, but later I waited more than 70 minutes to confront the shooter inside the school. Teary-eyed family members were in the small Texas town courtroom to watch as Gonzales was accused of abandoning and failing to protect children who were killed and injured.
Gonzales and former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo were indicted by a grand jury in June. Arredondo waived the charge and pleaded not guilty on July 10. Both were released on bail following the charges.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. The previous AP story follows below.
A former Uvalde school police officer who was part of law enforcement’s slow response to 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School is scheduled to appear in court for the first time on Thursday.
Adrian Gonzales was one of nearly 400 officers who responded to the scene, but later I waited more than 70 minutes to confront the shooter inside the school. He will be prosecuted in the small Texas town on charges of abandoning and failing to protect children who were killed and injured. Some families spent more than two years pushing for police officers to face charges after 19 children and two teachers were killed inside a fourth-grade classroom.
Gonzales and former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo were indicted by a Uvalde grand jury in June. Arredondo waived the charge and pleaded not guilty on July 10. Both were released on bail following the charges.
Gonzales’ attorney called the charges “unprecedented in the state of Texas.”
“Sir. Gonzales’ position is that he did not violate school district policy or state law,” said Nico LaHood, former Bexar County district attorney.
Javier Montemayor, listed by the Uvalde district clerk as Arredondo’s attorney, did not return phone messages left at his office seeking comment.
The May 22, 2024 attack was one of the worst school shootings in United States history. The police response was heavily criticized in state It is Federal investigations that described “cascading failures” in training, communication and leadership among officers waiting outside the building while some victims died or begged for help.
Gonzales, 51, was one of the first officers to arrive. He was indicted on 29 counts accusing him of abandoning training and not confronting the shooter, even after hearing gunshots while in a hallway.
Arredondo, 53, was the local commander that day. He is charged with 10 state prison counts of abandoning or endangering a child. Arredondo failed to identify an active shooting, failed to follow his training and made decisions that delayed the police response to stop a shooter who was “hunting” for victims, according to the indictment.
Terrified students inside the classroom called 911 as parents begged officers to enter. A tactical team of police officers eventually entered the classroom and killed the shooter.
Each charge against Gonzales and Arredondo carries up to two years in prison if convicted.
The case is the most recent but still rare circumstance of a US police officer being accused of allegedly failing to act during a campus shooting. The first such case to go to trial was that of a Florida sheriff’s deputy who failed to confront the perpetrator of the 2018 Parkland massacre. was acquitted of criminal negligence last year. A lawsuit filed by the families of victims and survivors is pending.
Some families of the Uvalde victims asked more police officers will be charged. Several families have filed federal and state lawsuits against law enforcement, social media and online gaming companies and the gun manufacturer who made the rifle used by the shooter.
___
Lathan, who reported from Austin, Texas, is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report to America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover undercovered issues. Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
