One former police chief has stepped forward to issue criticism at the law enforcement officials from Uvalde, Texas, for what he calls an extremely slow response to the recent mass shooting event, making the argument that the entire goal of such a situation is to move the gunfire away from any defenseless victims.
Cedric Alexander, the former DeKalb County, Georgia, Police Chief, issued these strong statements as part of a panel discussion that took place during a segment of “Meet the Press” hosted by Chuck Todd that was aired this past Sunday.
“Officers on that scene who arrive first, you go inside that building. You follow that gunfire, and the whole intention is to move that gunfire away from the innocent victims who are innocent and defenseless and you move that gunfire toward you,” stated Alexander.
“You have an opportunity to win that gun battle. There is no other option. There’s nothing else to take about,” he continued.
WATCH: Fmr. DeKalb County, Ga. Police Chief Cedric Alexander describes the duties of police officers during mass shootings:@Calex_law: “The whole intention here is to move that gunfire away from those innocent victims … who are defenseless. You move that gunfire towards you.” pic.twitter.com/oq9dfCy3Y2
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 29, 2022
Alexanders also made the argument that the response he spoke of is the outright expectation of the officers considering their years of training.
“When you respond to that scene, that is your training. That’s what you’ve been training to do for the last 23 years, so that’s what you do,” he stated.
The former police chief also stated the argument that any officer must give a response immediately, whether it’s the area leader or just the newest officer of the force on that team.
“These innocent babies had absolutely nothing, nothing, so it is your responsibility, it’s my responsibility, if I’m the incident commander or if I’m the last person hired,” he exclaimed.
This reaction sprouts up as pieces of new information continue to be discovered that highlights the extremely lengthy response time between when officers made it to the scene at Robb Elementary School and when the shooter was actually engaged and dealt with in the classrooms well over an hour later.
Recently released details unveiled that the shooter walked into an open door at the school and was not at all confronted by a school resource officer. Then the shooter moved to lock himself in a classroom where he stayed with students for quite a while before a local agent with the Border Patrol alongside two other agents forced their way into the classroom to take down the shooter.
The agent of the Border Patrol who managed to kill the shooter also ended up wounded from the incident with a bullet grazing and cutting the top of his head.
Bill Melugin, a correspondent from Fox News, made a post highlighting the damaged hat previously worn by the officer.
“This is the hat the elite, veteran BORTAC Border Patrol agent was wearing when he breached the classroom with a tactical team and engaged/killed the Uvalde school shooter, a CBP source tells me. Graze wound to head. Many BP agents in Uvalde have kids at the school,” he stated as a caption above the image.
NEW: This is the hat the elite, veteran BORTAC Border Patrol agent was wearing when he breached the classroom with a tactical team and engaged/killed the Uvalde school shooter, a CBP source tells me. Graze wound to head. Many BP agents in Uvalde have kids at the school. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/924WCOZjsK
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) May 25, 2022
Greg Abbott, the Republican Governor of Texas, has also issued a statement to talk about a plan to help those affected by the shooting.
“Announcing the State of Texas’ comprehensive plan to assist Texans affected by the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School,” he stated. “We will be with the victims’ families and entire Uvalde community every step of the way.”
Announcing the State of Texas’ comprehensive plan to assist Texans affected by the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School.
We will be with the victims’ families and entire Uvalde community every step of the way. https://t.co/Up2PfaaJjy— Gov. Greg Abbott (@GovAbbott) May 27, 2022
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