City Inquiry: Uvalde Officers Made Mistakes, but Did Not Violate Policy

An investigator for the city of Uvalde said on Thursday that despite the many documented failures of more than 20 city police officers who were among those responding to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in 2022, no punishment was warranted because the officers acted in good faith and did not violate department policy.

During a special meeting convened to reveal results of a two-year investigation, the investigator, Jesse Prado, a retired detective from Austin, also advised that the acting police chief at the time, Lt. Mariano Pargas Jr., be cleared of any wrongdoing. Mr. Pargas, who was running the force that day while the chief was on vacation, had resigned amid a storm of criticism from city residents.

“There were many failures,” Mr. Prado said, but he added that “there was no evidence of serious acts of misconduct in direct violation of the Uvalde Police Department’s policies.”

City officials did not directly comment on the report, but the new mayor, Cody Smith, who took office in November, said he planned to meet with family members later to discuss it.

“Please understand that in being as transparent as possible, the council and I are hearing this presentation for the first time tonight and have not yet seen this report,” he said as the meeting began.

Still, relatives of the victims were already expressing their outrage. The families have continued to demand transparency and accountability for a lengthy delay in confronting the gunman.