Current:Home > ScamsTexas chief who called Uvalde response ‘abject failure’ but defended his state police is retiring-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Texas chief who called Uvalde response ‘abject failure’ but defended his state police is retiring
View Date:2024-12-23 18:28:12
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ state police chief who came under scrutiny over the hesitant response to the Robb Elementary school shooting in 2022 and has overseen Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s aggressive efforts to stop migrant crossings on the U.S.-Mexico border said Friday he will retire at the end of the year.
Col. Steve McCraw has been the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety since 2009. He announced his retirement while addressing a new class of state troopers at a graduation ceremony in Austin.
McCraw did not elaborate during his remarks on the decision to step down. In a letter to agency employees, he praised their courage but did not mention Uvalde or any other specific police action during his tenure.
“Your bravery and willingness to face danger head-on have garnered the admiration and support of our leadership, Legislature and the people of Texas,” McCraw wrote.
McCraw was not on the scene during the May 24, 2022, school attack in Uvalde that killed 19 fourth-graders and two teachers in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. He called the police response an “abject failure” but resisted calls from victims’ families and some Texas lawmakers to step down after the shooting.
About 90 state troopers in McCraw’s ranks were among the nearly 400 local, state and federal officers who arrived on scene but waited more than 70 minutes before confronting and killing the gunman inside a classroom. Scathing state and federal investigative reports catalogued “cascading failures” in training, communication, leadership and technology problems.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat who represents Uvalde, said McCraw should have been forced out soon after the massacre. McCraw’s troopers were “armed to the teeth” but “stood around and failed to confront the shooter,” said Gutierrez, who blamed him for the delay.
“McCraw’s legacy will always be the failure in Uvalde, and one day, he will be brought to justice for his inaction,” Gutierrez said.
At a news conference a few days after the shooting, McCraw choked back tears in describing emergency calls and texts from students inside the classroom. He blamed the police delay on the local schools police chief, who McCraw said was the on-scene incident commander in charge of the response.
Former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo and former school police officer Adrian Gonzales have been indicted on multiple counts of child abandonment and endangerment, but they remain the only two officers to face charges. They both have pleaded not guilty.
Arredondo has said he has been “scapegoated” for the police response, and that he never should have been considered the officer in charge that day.
Last month, McCraw reinstated one of the few DPS troopers disciplined over the Uvalde shooting response. A group of families of Uvalde victims has filed a $500 million lawsuit over the police response.
The DPS also has been at the center of Abbott’s multi-billion border “Operation Lone Star” security mission that has sent state troopers to the region, given the National Guard arrest powers, bused migrants to Washington, D.C., and put buoys in the Rio Grande to try to prevent migrant crossings.
The agency also led a police crackdown earlier this year on campus protests at the University of Texas over the Israel-Hamas war.
Abbott called McCraw “one of the most highly regarded law enforcement officers,” in the country and called him the “quintessential lawman that Texas is so famous for.”
veryGood! (23185)
Related
- Alexandra Daddario Shares Candid Photo of Her Postpartum Body 6 Days After Giving Birth
- Justice Dept. accuses 2 political operatives of hiding foreign lobbying during Trump administration
- NFL power rankings Week 18: Cowboys, Lions virtually tied after controversial finish
- Series of small explosions, no injuries reported after 1.7-magnitude quake in New York
- World leaders aim to shape Earth's future at COP29 climate change summit
- Forest Whitaker’s Ex-Wife Keisha Nash Whitaker’s Cause of Death Revealed
- Interested in fan fiction? Here’s what you need to know to start.
- Japanese transport officials and police begin on-site probe after fatal crash on Tokyo runway
- 'Squid Game' creator lost '8 or 9' teeth making Season 1, explains Season 2 twist
- Los Angeles County sheriff releases video of fatal shooting of woman who reported domestic violence
Ranking
- Deion Sanders addresses trash thrown at team during Colorado's big win at Texas Tech
- Brooke Hogan confirms marriage, posts 'rare' photo of husband Steven Oleksy: 'Really lucky'
- Spaniard imprisoned in Iran after visiting grave of Mahsa Amini arrives home after release
- Gas prices fall under 3 bucks a gallon at majority of U.S. stations
- Social media star squirrel euthanized after being taken from home tests negative for rabies
- RHOSLC's Season Finale Reveals a Secret So Shocking Your Jaw Will Drop
- Off-duty Arkansas officer kills shoplifting suspect who attacked him with a knife, police say
- In 2024, Shapiro faces calls for billions for schools, a presidential election and wary lawmakers
Recommendation
-
Five best fits for Alex Bregman: Will Astros homegrown star leave as free agent?
-
Trump’s vows to deport millions are undercut by his White House record and one family’s story
-
FBI investigates deadly New Year's Day crash in Rochester, NY. What we know
-
Japanese transport officials and police begin on-site probe after fatal crash on Tokyo runway
-
Roster limits in college small sports put athletes on chopping block while coaches look for answers
-
The First Teaser for Vanderpump Villa Is Chic—and Dramatic—as Hell
-
Mariah Carey Embraces Change in the New Year By Posing on Her Bad Side
-
Questions on artificial intelligence and a budget deficit await returning California lawmakers