After a city council meeting this week in Uvalde, Texas, several police officers were cleared of any wrongdoing regarding the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in May 2022, which resulted in the deaths of two teachers and 19 students. Just days after this verdict, Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez abruptly resigned hours before the council was expected to comment on the findings of the report at a local public meeting. It is confirmed that his resignation will be effective April 6, 2024.
Chief Rodriguez was on vacation in Arizona at the time of the incident, and Lt. Mariano Pargas had been assigned to his duties.
After the incident, families of victims were furious to find that the police had been called multiple times with no responding officers entering the building. Upon further investigation, the teenage gunman was left uncontested inside the school for 77 minutes.
The city of Uvalde conducted an investigation to determine if the 376 respondant police officers acted in good faith and to confirm whether or not they properly executed active-shooter protocol, in which every officer was cleared. Chief Rodriguez returned home after the incident as head of the force, and Lt. Pargas resigned in November 2022.
Uvalde Mayor Cody Smith made a comment expressing his gratitude for Rodriguez, stating, “The city of Uvalde is grateful to Chief Rodriguez for his 26 years of service to our community and we wish him the best as he pursues new career opportunities.” He also added that Assistant Chief of Police Homer Delgado would be named interim-chief until a permanent replacement is found.
Chief Rodriguez did not comment on why he was resigning, but stated that he was “moving onto a new chapter” in his life. “I have had the privilege of serving the City of Uvalde and its residents for the past 26 years,” he continued, “it has been an honor to lead the dedicated men and women of our police department.”
