Police

DoJ to Review Police Response to Texas School Shooting

MAY 30 2022·Updated JAN 2 2023

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DoJ to Review Police Response to Texas School Shooting

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Image credit: pbs

The Facts

On Sun., the US Dept. of Justice announced that it will investigate the response of law enforcement officers to the mass shooting at the Robb elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 children and two teachers dead.
FOX News
"The Critical Incident Review" will provide an "independent account" of the actions and responses of authorities, and "identify lessons learned and best practices" for responding to shooter events, according to a spokesman from the justice department.
USA Today
There has been mounting pressure on police since authorities revealed on Fri. that over a dozen officers were instructed to wait in a hallway, while students and teachers begged operators for help.
Time
Police have claimed that they were under the misunderstanding that the shooter was barricaded inside an adjoining classroom and that there was no longer an active attack. The attacker was killed by a Border Patrol tactical team over an hour after police arrived on the scene.
Time
The Dept. of Justice announced their investigation in response to a request made by the mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughlin.
CBS News
It will be managed by the DoJ's Office of Community Policing Services. The inquiry is somewhat rare as most after-action reporting following mass shootings are conducted by local law enforcement agencies or external entities.
PBS NewsHour

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

The parents and children of Uvalde were utterly failed by authorities. Every second counts in shooter situations, and the delayed response by police almost certainly cost lives. Police conduct during the response - which ran contrary to well-established active shooter protocol - demands scrutiny and accountability.

CNN

Narrative B

While the police's actions were clearly a botched incident response, there is no statute that holds them liable for the deaths. This wasn't a matter of bad policy that needs reforming; it was a simple case of the chief of police making an incorrect assessment about the shooter, leading to incorrect tactics being followed. While the consequences were tragic, there was no intentional deprivation of civil rights.