Article Submitted by Otto Arnim, Republican Primary Run-off candidate for Uvalde County Sheriff
(The Uvalde Hesperian will publish one article submitted by any run-off candidate before the run-off election)
After careful thought in reviewing the meeting on Thursday concerning the report on the Robb School shooting, Uvalde Police Department response, these are my thoughts. The report is a complete SHAM! As many are saying, it looks as though the city has received a report that mitigates the liability the city may have in this disaster. I believe Mr. Prado’s instructions when he took on this case was to merely determine if any policies of the department were violated, that’s all. This would certainly benefit a court case. There are, however, the citizens of Uvalde must take into consideration when forming an opinion on the report. Law Enforcement is a quasi- military organization and therefore has a strict chain of command which goes from the top to the bottom. Officers follow orders from a superior, that way the organization operates as a cohesive unit.
The report did point out the fact that there was a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that stated the UCISD police would be in control of school related incidents, therefore the Chief of the school district was the incident commander and in charge of the Robb School shooting. When supervisors of the police department arrived on location and realized that the UCISD police were incapable of handling the emergency, they should have taken charge. The Acting Chief of the Uvalde Police Department at that time was responsible for the implementation of that order. The fact that this decision was not made contributed to the further suffering and death of individuals in failing to act did not relegate the obligation that police had a duty to stop the shooter. The moral obligation of officers who swear an oath to protect supersedes any policy an agency may implement.
When the Uvalde County Sheriff arrived on the scene, it was the obligation of the highest law enforcement officer of the county to take charge and implement a strategy to take control of the chaos that was evident. For the third time, this did not happen. Officers in some of the agencies that were present have left their prospective agencies because of conflict within their moral conscience which has led them to that determination.
Families who lost loved ones are seeking justice for the failure that is evident from the Department of Justice (DOJ) report. Keeping in mind the military style of law enforcement agencies, the heads of the agencies are responsible for the failures of May 24th. All officers cannot be held to the same standard. The lack of leadership and training are the primary causes of the disaster. The national protocol for school shootings is to go in immediately. With so many school shootings over the years, agencies should have anticipated the need for specialized equipment.
I am seeking the office of sheriff to restore the leadership and experience that is absent from the Uvalde County Sheriff office. I need your vote in the upcoming runoff election on May 28th. I would like to hear your comments and questions.
Finally every citizen of Uvalde County owes Councilman Hector Luevano a debt of gratitude for having the courage to stand up in opposition of the Uvalde PD report and failing to allow family members to ask questions following this report.
