Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024 | 2 a.m.
The Justice Department released a scathing examination of multiple police failures during the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers were murdered.
Nineteen officers, heavily armed and with protective vests, did nothing for over an hour after they entered the building. Instead, after receiving gunfire from the shooter, they retreated, took cover and waited for backup. This despite hearing periodic gunfire and receiving multiple calls from children pleading for help.
In an active-shooter situation, police cannot wait or attempt to bargain with the gunman. They must move in and eliminate the threat. The Justice Department’s report indicates that there were systemic failures, including breakdowns in leadership, decision making, tactics, policy, communication and training, all contributing to multiple, deadly mistakes.
A total of 376 law enforcement members — a force larger than the garrison that defended the Alamo — were present. But instead of moving in with the overwhelming force that was available, they waited and took cover. This failure to prioritize the lives of innocent victims over their own safety gave the shooter time to carry out his mission. It took 77 minutes from the time the police arrived to take out the shooter — a teenager whom investigators believe had never fired a weapon before in his life.
The entire law enforcement assemblage displayed a total lack of urgency and courage. Any one of them could have — and should have — moved forward and eliminated the threat.
