“The findings of the House Investigative Committee report are outside the jurisdiction of our agency,” the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, or TCOLE, said in a statement.
The licensing agency “generally has the authority to take disciplinary action on a peace officer’s license for violations of our administrative rules or for criminal convictions,” the statement added.
TCOLE’s statement comes as a number of law enforcement agencies have come under increased scrutiny for their response to the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary, where 21 people – including 19 children and two teachers – were killed.
Although there were 376 responders at the scene from local, state and federal agencies, it took police more than an hour after the shooter opened fire in two adjacent classrooms to confront him and To kill him.
The weeks following the shooting saw accusations between law enforcement: Texas Department of Public Safety Director Col. Steven McCraw called the response a ‘dismal failure’ during a hearing before a Texas Senate committee last month, blaming the feet of school district police chief Pedro “Pete” Arredondo, who McCraw said was the incident commander. But Arredondo told the Texas Tribune that he did not consider himself the incident commander.
The agency “sets and enforces minimum licensing and training standards for law enforcement personnel,” the report, released in January 2021, says, but local agencies “set their own standards of professional conduct and policies. disciplinary, as well as additional training requirements”.
Accordingly, TCOLE “has relatively limited authority to establish or enforce anything other than minimum licensing standards…and no authority to establish or enforce standards of professional conduct, except in the case of a criminal conviction or deferred judgment of a licensee.”
The board will make a decision on Arredondo’s employment in a closed session, District Superintendent Hal Harrell said, adding that he awaits the report and its findings, which will be considered.
The DPS announced this week that it would conduct an internal review of its officers’ actions, but at least one state official questioned whether the agency could be trusted to “review its own inaction.” and its failures” on the day of the shooting.
In a letter to Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, State Senator Roland Gutierrez, who represents Uvalde, said it was the Senate’s “obligation” to “hold the DPS and its employees and public servants”.
“Therefore, I ask that you direct the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice to review the DPS’s internal investigation to ensure that it has thoroughly and aggressively examined the actions of its employees in response to the attack. against Uvalde.”
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