Uvalde Shooting: Officer on Trial – Rare Prosecution

A former school police officer in Uvalde, Texas, who was part of the slow law enforcement response to the 2022 school shooting at Robb Elementary, went on trial Monday on charges that he failed to protect children from the gunman. Adrian Gonzales is charged with 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment in a rare prosecution of an officer accused of not doing more to save lives during the attack that killed 19 students and two teachers.

Officers Took 77 Minutes to Enter School

Jury selection began Monday at a Texas courthouse, with a long line of prospective jurors stretching outside the building. Potential jurors were questioned about their knowledge of the law enforcement response to the shooting, their impressions of the events, and whether they had donated money to Uvalde victims.

Nearly 400 officers from state, local and federal law enforcement agencies responded to the school, but 77 minutes passed before a tactical team breached the classroom and killed the shooter, Salvador Ramos. An investigation revealed Ramos was obsessed with violence and notoriety in the months leading up to the attack.

Gonzales and former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo were among the first on the scene, and are the only two officers to face criminal charges over the response. Arredondo’s trial has not yet been scheduled.

The charges against Gonzales carry a potential prison sentence of up to two years if convicted.

Initially, police and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stated that swift law enforcement action had killed Ramos and saved lives. However, this account was quickly disputed by families who described begging police to intervene, and by 911 calls from students pleading for help.

The indictment alleges Gonzales placed children in “imminent danger” of injury or death by failing to engage, distract, or delay the shooter, and by not following his active shooter training. The allegations also state he did not move toward the gunfire despite hearing shots and being informed of the shooter’s location.

State and federal reviews of the shooting identified problems in law enforcement training, communication, leadership, and technology, and questioned the delay in confronting the shooter. According to the state review, Gonzales told investigators he helped evacuate students from the school once police realized there were still children in other classrooms.

Some family members of the victims believe more officers should be charged. “They all waited and allowed children and teachers to die,” said Velma Lisa Duran, whose sister Irma Garcia was one of the two teachers killed.

Prosecutors are expected to face challenges in securing a conviction, as juries are often hesitant to convict law enforcement officers for inaction, as seen in the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting case.

The trial was moved approximately 320 kilometers southeast to Corpus Christi at the request of Gonzales’s attorneys, who argued he could not receive a fair trial in Uvalde. Prosecutors did not object to the change of venue.

Uvalde still bears visible reminders of the shooting, with Robb Elementary remaining closed but standing, a memorial of 21 crosses and flowers near the school sign, and murals depicting victims on buildings throughout the town.

Jesse Rizo, whose nine-year-old niece Jackie was among those killed, said his family intends to attend the trial every day. “It’s important that the jury see that Jackie had a big, strong family,” Rizo said.