Texas DPS released footage within 48 hours, still has not released Robb footage.
Austin, Texas – On Thursday, State Senator Roland Gutierrez sent a letter to Texas Department of Public Safety Director Col. Steve McCraw, demanding an independent investigation into an incident that occurred Wednesday in which a DPS officer shoved a parent at Flores Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Body-worn camera footage of the incident was released late Thursday evening by ABC News.
“I am glad that DPS has listened to our request and quickly released the bodycam footage from this incident. Now that we know that DPS can do this quickly without an investigation being completed, it’s time for them to release the Robb Massacre camera footage to the public. As in this instance, there is no reason to hide the ugly truth from the people,” Gutierrez stated, “Because we know DPS cannot be trusted to investigate themselves, I am continuing the call for an independent investigation so we can make sure a fair assessment is made in this situation. Every DPS officer working in Uvalde should have the sensibility to know the toll that the Robb Massacre has taken on the surviving families and DPS’ abject failure in protecting their children.”
Since the massacre nearly 11 months ago, Gutierrez has demanded the release of all body-worn camera footage and 911 audio tapes to the public. DPS has hidden behind the Uvalde County District Attorney’s office, citing an ongoing investigation. Senator Gutierrez was only able to view the footage after signing a non-disclosure agreement.
Gutierrez concludes, “We have to stop putting these families and this community through torture. DPS must know that they have caused irreparable harm to these families. The best they can do now is rip the band-aid off and release the Robb Elementary footage immediately, as they should have done May 25th of last year. I continue to call on Director McCraw to do the right thing once and for all.”
Thursday’s letter to Col. McCraw can be found here.
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Roland Gutierrez has served as the Texas State Senator for District 19 since 2021, previously serving six terms as a member of the Texas House of Representatives and two terms as a San Antonio City Councilman.
