The Uvalde, Texas, police chief announced his resignation Tuesday, days after a City Council report cleared several officers of wrongdoing in the delayed law enforcement response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School that killed 19 children and two teachers.
“After much contemplation and consideration, I believe it is time for me to embark on a new chapter in my career,” Chief Daniel Rodriguez said in a statement.
“I have had the privilege of serving the City of Uvalde and its residents for the past 26 years, and it has been an honor to lead the dedicated men and women of our police department.”
Rodriguez did not address the report or the shooting itself in his statement. His resignation takes effect April 6.
Mayor Cody Smith said he was “grateful” to Rodriguez for his “service to our community.”
Assistant Police Chief Homer Delgado will be named interim chief.
Last week, a City Council report cleared law enforcement of wrongdoing in the May 24, 2022, mass shooting after an analysis revealed that police waited 77 minutes for tactical gear to arrive while students remained locked inside a classroom.
In addition to the 19 students and two teachers who were killed, 17 other people were injured. The shooter was killed after a confrontation with police.
Jesse Prado, the Austin-based investigator and former police detective who wrote the report, said there were clear communication issues between Uvalde school district police and responding officers.
Prado said former Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo “would make phone calls, but the officers had no way to know what was being planned or what was being said.” The investigation also found no evidence that the city’s police force — the focus of the investigation — committed any wrongdoing or failed to follow training.
In January, the U.S. Justice Department blamed the law enforcement response on a lack of leadership at the scene and a failure to follow accepted police protocol.
At a Uvalde City Council meeting Tuesday evening, parents of those killed said they were disappointed that the council was not going to act about whether to accept the report, as they were led to believe.
“You all told us last week you were going to give us some damn answers — and you’re still not giving us answers,” said Brett Cross, whose son Uziyah was killed. “Do you all accept it or not?”
Xavier Lopez, who was friends with Uziyah, would have turned 12 years old Tuesday, Cross said. It’s been almost two years since the shooting.
Smith the mayor, who sits on the council, said he understands the frustration, but the council needs more time to determine “what, if any actions we can take.”
“I know you all are sick of it, you all are sick of getting the can kicked down the road, man, and I feel you, I do,” Wheeler said. “But we have to have some more time.”
Veronica Mata, whose 10-year-old daughter Tess was murdered in the shooting rampage, was among those who told the council that they’ve waited long enough.
“We have waited almost two years now, and you keep asking us for more time. How much more time do you want us to wait?” she said, and she also questioned whether the council was stalling in the hopes the three officers would simply quit.
“These officers let our children down. Do the right thing and fire them,” Mata said.
Jesse Rizo, the uncle of Jacklyn Cazares, who was 9 when she was killed, said that the resigning police chief didn’t even mention the shooting in his resignation.
Rodriguez was not at Tuesday night’s council meeting.
“And what does Daniel do today? He doesn’t show up. Just like his crew didn’t show up that day,” Rizo said. Rizo said that the resignation letter “is all about Daniel — no accountability, no responsibility.”
Residents also voiced anger about the report’s findings at last week’s meeting.
Kimberly Mata-Rubio, who lost her 10-year-old daughter, Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio, said at that meeting: “How do all of you live with yourselves?
“How do you go to bed at night and then wake up every day? Shame on you all. You said they did it in good faith? You call that good faith? They stood there for 77 minutes and waited after they got call after call that kids were still alive in there,” she continued. “All this is it’s a pact. It’s a brothers’ pact. You protect your own.”
