SAN ANTONIO — The Uvalde City Council called the local police department's policies "outdated" and promising that change is on the way in its official statement addressing an internal investigation into the 2022 Robb Elementary shooting that exonerated city personnel who were at the scene.
It marked the first time the council as a whole had spoken about the report after former Mayor Cody Smith had said more time was needed to determine "what, if any, action we can take" in regards to it.
The findings of that report, presented seven weeks ago on March 7, were met with backlash from the families of Robb victims, who have been seeking accountability for nearly two years. The investigation was led by Austin-based investigator Jesse Prado.
Mayor pro tem Everardo Zamora read the statement after council members returned from a closed-door executive session Tuesday night, saying leaders acknowledged that Prado's report "did not foster the city's effort to help the community health."
"The bottom line is that members of our beloved community were not adequately protected that day," Zamora said, referring to when 19 students and two teachers were killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary School. "The Uvalde Police Department policies were outdated and the department lacked the proper training and equipment to protect our community. That is changing."
Prado's conclusions on the response of Uvalde police personnel at Robb were met by shouts of "cowards." Prado found that the city's officers didn't violate current UPD policies, and in some cases praised their actions during one of the deadliest classroom shootings in U.S. history.
The city report also noted that the Uvalde Police Department's SWAT team had not trained consistently since before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Three UPD officers who were present in the hallway during the shooting “were the leadership of the SWAT team and had the most experience with Uvalde PD."
Zamora said the city wouldn't commission another report on the 2022 tragedy. He also emphasized the city was looking ahead to improving UPD and evaluating "all aspects" under the leadership of Chief Homer Delgado, who was appointed the next permanent police chief earlier this month following the abrupt resignation of Daniel Rodriguez.
Rodriguez had led the police department since 2018 but wasn't in Uvalde on May 24, 2022, the day of the Robb Elementary shooting.
On April 15, Delgado announced a "Guardian Initiative" to improve and modernize the city's police force, to include a department-wide review of past actions and one-on-one interviews with every officer.
Tuesday's response wasn't enough for Brett Cross, one of the most outspoken advocates for accountability after his son, Uziyah Garcia, was killed at Robb.
"Once again, the City of Uvalde decides to f**k us over again," Cross said in a post on X Tuesday night. "You mean to tell me you spent six figures of taxpayer money... to pay for this report, and you're just gonna say, 'We're not going to accept it or deny it, we're not gonna do nothing about it.'"
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