Uvalde police chief announces he's resigning
Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez resigned from his post on Tuesday, just days after a local report found that the city’s officers did not violate policies during their response on May 24, 2022, when 19 students and two teachers were killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
"After deep contemplation and consideration, I believe it is time for me to embrace a new chapter in my career,” Rodriguez wrote in his resignation letter to the city, which did not mention the school shooting.
His resignation goes into effect on April 6. Homer Delgado, assistant chief of the department, will be named interim chief as the city looks for a replacement, the Uvalde Police Department confirmed to The Hill.
“I want to express my deepest appreciation to all of my colleagues and team members for their unwavering support, professionalism, and dedication to our mission of serving and protecting the community,” Rodriguez said. “It has been a privilege to work alongside such talented and committed individuals, and I will miss our collaborations and camaraderie dearly.”
Rodriguez was not in Uvalde when the shooting took place. Lt. Mariano Pargas was tapped to be the acting chief at the time. Pargas stepped down in November 2022.
The Uvalde City Council report released last week cleared law enforcement in connection to the shooting. While the Friday report acknowledged the police failure that left almost 400 members of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies standing outside of the school for 77 minutes while the shooter was inside, it said that local officers were not in violation of policies.
The shooter was killed when confronted by police. Seventeen others were also injured in the shooting.
Jesse Prado, a former police detective from Austin, conducted the report. He shared the failures during last week's city council meeting, citing poor training for live shooter situations, communication problems and lack of available equipment.
The report followed a harsher report performed and released by the Department of Justice that found the lack of communication and poor preparation led to a botched response to the shooting.