By Aaron Miller-
A damning new report into the Uvalde school massacre has condemned almost 400 law enforcement officers who arrived for “failing to prioritise innocent victims’ safety over their own”..
A 77-page report was released on Sunday, detailing what transpired, after complaints that it had taken more than an hour to bring down 18-year-old high school drop out Salvador Ramos, after he killed 21 people, including 19 children at Robb Elementary school
The report was written by an investigative committee from the Texas House of Representatives and released to family members on Sunday.
It comes as Ulvalde mayor Don McLaughlin said the acting police chief on the day of the massacre, Lt Mariano Pargas, has been placed on leave.
The report showed blame rested on almost every agency who attended, highlighting “systemic failures” and “ultimately poor decision-making” from officers both inside and outside the school.
There was no overall command, “chaos,” and a lack of unity in decision-making.
The report also singled out the school for errors – saying security doors weren’t properly locked and some “active shooter” protocols weren’t followed.
There was a general “lackadaisical approach”, it said, adding: “At Robb Elementary, law enforcement responders failed to adhere to their active shooter training, and they failed to prioritise saving the lives of innocent victims over their own safety.”
Still from bodycam footage of the police response to the Uvalde shooting in Texas, released alongside a report by the Texas House of Representatives reveal shows children being helped out of a building
“Other than the attacker, the committee did not find any ‘villains” in the course of its investigation,” it said.
“There is no one to whom we can attribute malice or ill motives. Instead, we found systemic failures and egregiously poor decision making.”
Bodycam footage of the police response to the shooting is likely to fuel criticism of what happened.
In one clip three officers can be heard speaking to each other.
One asks: “Is there anyone in this classroom?”
A second says: “We don’t know.”
The third replies: “No we need to find out though. There has to be kids everywhere.”
Speaking at a news conference on Sunday, Texas State House Investigative Committee chairman Dustin Burrows said: “If we need a simple phrase to summarise this report it is ‘multiple systemic failures’.”
Discussing the actions of law enforcement, he added: “They should have tried door handles, gone through the windows, tried to distract him, tried to do something.”
“Everyone talked about this being chaotic. Inside the school there should have been a tactical commander but there should also have been an overall commander outside the building.
“There was a lack of overall effective command on that day
Mr McLaughlin said Mr Pargas was put on administrative leave to determine if he was responsible for taking command after the gunman entered the school, killing 19 children and two teachers.