Report: Ex-DPS trooper who responded to Uvalde shooting hired onto school district's police force
UVALDE, Texas (Nexstar) — A former Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who responded to the Uvalde massacre and is under investigation for her response got a new job with the Uvalde school district's police force, according to an exclusive CNN report.
In the report published Wednesday night, CNN released the name of the trooper — Crimson Elizondo. The news outlet said Elizondo was one of the first of the 91 DPS troopers to respond to Robb Elementary School on May 24, after responders first got reports of an active shooter situation.
That day, 19 children and two teachers were killed in the shooting. They and many survivors were left waiting for over an hour to be rescued by various law enforcement officers, who waited outside the classroom where the tragedy took place.
Officers' actions have been widely criticized in the wake of the shooting, with Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw calling the shooting response "an abject failure."
At least seven DPS troopers were put under investigation for their response to the shooting, CNN said, and the police chief for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, Pete Arredondo, was fired.
CNN said it found out through "sources familiar with the investigation" that Elizondo was one of the DPS officers being reviewed. It said she left DPS and got hired as a police officer for Uvalde CISD to protect some of the same kids who survived the Robb Elementary shooting. Elizondo declined to speak with the news outlet, according to CNN's report.
KXAN has reached out to both DPS and Uvalde CISD for comment. We will update this article once a response is received.
CNN said May 24 body camera footage captured Elizondo saying, in her DPS uniform stained with blood, “If my son had been in there, I would not have been outside. I promise you that.”
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who represents the Uvalde area, issued a statement Thursday in response to CNN's report, saying, in part:
“DPS and whoever allowed this officer to be put on the payroll and stationed in our schools just slapped this community in the face. There is a callous disregard within Abbott’s government for the families of the victims, the students who survived, and for an entire community still in mourning. If DPS had any intention of holding anyone accountable, officers under investigation would not be able to resign in disgrace and quickly find new work in law enforcement – particularly in the very community they failed. But we don't need an DPS investigation to know this: 91 DPS troopers idled at Robb Elementary while 19 children and two teachers were killed and others lay injured and scared. And Abbott and McCraw have done nothing to prevent the next massacre. Uvalde families are done with excuses.”
Elizondo's name and photo were displayed on the UCISD Police Department website but as of 11 a.m. Thursday it was not appearing anymore. Some Uvalde families affected by the shooting told CNN they recognized her from body camera footage released by the mayor.
CNN reported it's unclear if UCISD knew about the DPS investigation when Elizondo was hired. DPS has not released any names or information about the seven officers currently under investigation.
The DPS investigation of its troopers was announced last month and will be conducted by the Office of Inspector General.