Law enforcement 'failure': Justice Department releases scathing report on response to mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland released the report detailing law enforcement shortcomings following the tragedy on May 24, 2022, in which 19 children and two teachers died.
Both impromptu and scheduled news conferences and media engagements contained inaccurate, incomplete, and at times, conflicting information. Mirroring the failures of the law enforcement response, state and local agencies failed to coordinate, leading to inaccurate and incomplete information being provided to anxious family and community members and the public.
Law enforcement agencies across the country should immediately prioritize active shooter training, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday as he released a scathing report about the handling of the 2022 massacre in Uvalde in which lives could have been saved if training protocols had been followed, the Texas Tribune first reported.
“Had law enforcement agencies followed generally accepted practices in an active shooter situation and gone right after the shooter to stop him, lives would have been saved and people would have survived,” Garland said during a news conference on Thursday.
The Justice Department announced the release of a 610-page report on its critical incident review of the law enforcement response to the tragic school shooting at Robb Elementary School. The word “failure” is written 43 times. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the review following the tragedy on May 24, 2022, in which 19 children and two teachers died at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The report describes the critical incident review that has taken place over the past 20 months.
“The victims and survivors of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School deserved better,” said Attorney General Garland. “The law enforcement response at Robb Elementary on May 24th, 2022 — and the response by officials in the hours and days after — was a failure. As a consequence of failed leadership, training, and policies, 33 students and three of their teachers — many of whom had been shot — were trapped in a room with an active shooter for over an hour as law enforcement officials remained outside. We hope to honor the victims and survivors by working together to try to prevent anything like this from happening again, here or anywhere.”
“The report is intended to provide the most comprehensive assessment available of the law enforcement response to the horrific incident on May 24, 2022, as well as the emergency medical response, communications, and trauma services in the wake of the tragedy,” the press release said. It begins with a minute-by-minute timeline reconstructing key events before, during, and immediately following the shooting. The report addresses many previously unanswered questions, builds on the existing knowledge base for responding to incidents of mass violence, and identifies generally accepted practices for effective law enforcement responses. In doing so, “this report endeavors to honor the victims and survivors of this tragedy, as well as offer recommendations to improve future responses in other communities.”
The vast majority of at least 380 officers from about two dozen local, state and federal agencies who responded to the school had never trained together, “contributing to difficulties in coordination and communication,” the report stated.
In addition to the overall failure to appreciate the active shooter nature of the situation, responders also failed to act promptly even after hearing gunshots around 12:21 p.m., which should have spurred greater urgency to confront the subject but instead set off a renewed search for keys. (DOJ report)
“Uvalde is a community that is healing, and getting clear on the facts is part of healing,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. “As I made clear last April when I came to Uvalde to meet with families and reiterated to them last night, we promised that our report would honor the victims and survivors; provide a detailed, independent, and authoritative accounting of the events; and would not only look backward but would also identify lessons learned and recommendations for other communities to prevent something like this from happening again.”
Some of these details are gut-wrenching — families hearing about the need for autopsy results as the first indication that their loved ones may not have survived. At one point, hours after the shooting, an official incorrectly told families waiting for their children at the civic center that an additional bus of survivors was coming. It did not.
Inaccurate and inconsistent public communications, including social media posts and press conferences, made things worse. At 12:06 p.m., law enforcement posted on Facebook, reassuring parents that “students and staff are safe in the buildings.” That false reassurance was never corrected. An hour later, law enforcement inaccurately posted on social media that the shooter was in custody. That post too was never corrected. (Gupta’s remarks)
“The observations and recommendations in this report are based on national standards, generally accepted standards and practices, current research, and the expectations of communities,” said Director Hugh T. Clements, Jr. of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). “Reports like this are critical to law enforcement and, by extension, to the community. As agencies constantly strive to do better and be more fully prepared, detailed observations and recommendations like those within this report are invaluable to agencies planning for the future.”
The report examines the multiple failures in the response to the tragedy, including the breakdowns in leadership, decision-making, tactics, policy, and training that contributed to those failures. It describes the responding officers’ most significant failure as not treating the incident throughout as an active shooter situation and using the available and sufficient resources and equipment to push forward immediately and continuously to eliminate the threat. Although several of the first officers on the scene initially acted consistent with generally accepted practices to try to engage the subject, once they retreated after being met with gunfire, the law enforcement responders began treating the incident as a barricaded subject scenario rather than as an active shooter situation. In all, there was a 77-minute gap between when officers first arrived on the scene and when they finally confronted and killed the subject.
The report also examines the communications challenges during and after the shooting, including the inaccurate narrative that was initially delivered. It also documents the trauma and support services that were provided, as well as those that were not provided, to victims, survivors, family members, and responders.
The critical incident review was led by the COPS Office, with the support of leading subject matter experts with a wide variety of relevant experience. “The team established the following areas of focus: (1) incident timeline reconstruction; (2) tactics and equipment; (3) leadership, incident command, and coordination; (4) post-incident response and investigation; (5) public communications during and following the crisis; (6) trauma and support services; (7) school safety and security; and (8) pre-incident planning and preparation,” according to the press release.
“The team collected and reviewed more than 14,000 pieces of data and documentation, including policies, training logs, body camera and CCTV video footage, audio recordings, photographs, personnel records, manuals and standard operating procedures, interview transcripts, investigative files and data, and other documents. The team also spent 54 days onsite in Uvalde and conducted over 260 interviews of individuals who either played a role or had important information related to areas of the review. Those interviews included personnel from the law enforcement agencies involved in the response to the mass shooting; other first responders and medical personnel; victims’ family members; victim services providers; communications professionals and public information officers; school personnel; elected and appointed government officials; survivors and other witnesses; and hospital staff,” according to the press release.
The report, profiles of the victims and additional resources are available on the COPS Office website at cops.usdoj.gov/uvalde.
Garland directed questions about whether any officers who responded to the shooting would be criminally charged to the local district attorney, saying that was not within the jurisdiction of the federal government, the Texas Tribune first reported.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who initially praised the response and later said he was misled, released a statement thanking the Justice Department. He said the state has already adopted some of the recommended measures and would review others.
The previous mayor of Uvalde requested the federal review days after the shooting when it became clear that the response was flawed. The review was led in part by Sheriff John Mina of Orange County, Florida, who was the incident commander during the 2016 Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando.
“Responding officers here in Uvalde, who also lost loved ones and who still bear the emotional scars of that day, deserved the kind of leadership and training that would have prepared them to do the work that was required,” Garland said.
“The team took great care to be intentional about the words used in the report to convey the facts, observations, and recommendations. Nevertheless, the descriptions may be activating for some readers due to the explanations of this mass casualty incident, including the age of the victims,” the press release said.
For resources, including free and confidential emotional support, please visit 988lifeline.org or call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Cops & Congress by Annie Dance is a service journalism newsletter, focusing on police, policy, and public records in the Lake Lure area of western NC and beyond.
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