Uvalde police chief who was on vacation during Robb Elementary shooting resigns

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Uvalde police chief who was on vacation during the Robb Elementary School shooting submitted his resignation Tuesday, less than a week after a report ordered by the city defended the department's response to the attack but outraged some family members of the 19 children and two teachers who were killed.

Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez was vacationing in Arizona when a teenage gunman entered a fourth-grade classroom in Uvalde with an AR-style rifle on May 24, 2022. Fernando Fernandez, a spokesman for the department, said the chief told officers that the decision to step down was best for his family.

The resignation is effective April 6.

“The City of Uvalde is grateful to Chief Rodriguez for his 26 years of service to our community and we wish him the best as he pursues new career opportunities," Mayor Cody Smith said in a statement.

The announcement came hours before the Uvalde City Council was scheduled to meet for the first time since a private investigator hired by the city unveiled a report that acknowledged missteps by police but concluded that local officers did not deserve punishment. Nearly 400 law enforcement agents who were at the scene of the attack, including Uvalde police officers, waited more than an hour after the shooting began to confront the gunman.

A critical incident report by the Department of Justice in January found “cascading failures” in law enforcement’s handling of the massacre. The report specifically mentioned Uvalde Police Lt. Mariano Pargas, who was the acting police chief that day in Rodriguez's absence.

Parents and family members of the 19 children and two teachers killed in the shooting, as well as survivors and their relatives disagreed with the findings.

During a public comment period at the City Council meeting last week in Uvalde, some speakers questioned why Rodriguez had allowed officers who had waited so long to act to remain on the force.