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Sgt. Juan Maldonado, a Texas state trooper who was among the first to respond to the Uvalde mass school shooting in May, released by the state Department of Public Safety, spokeswoman Ericka Miller told CNN on Friday.
The public safety department did not disclose the grounds for the termination.
CNN has requested additional details from the Department regarding its termination process, including a time frame and possible appeals process. CNN also reached out to Maldonado for comment.
Maldonado’s firing comes after public criticism and criticism over the slow response of law enforcement to the shooting at Robb Elementary, where a teenage gunman entered the adjoining classrooms on May 24 and opened fire.
The shooter was killed 19 students and two teachers and other people were injured, and the many officers who came to the scene did not succeed in taking down the gunman immediately.
In early August, CNN was the first to report Maldonado was seen on body camera video arriving 4 minutes and 51 seconds after the gunman began his massacre, which became the deadliest school shooting in the US since 2012.
376 law enforcement officers would arrive at the scene, but it took 77 minutes from the start of the attack before the gunman was shot and killed by authorities, according to the Texas House investigative committee. About 91 Department of Public Safety officers were among those on the scene.
In August, DPS Director Colonel Steven McCraw did announced an internal review all DPS officers who responded to the shooting. Seven officers were subsequently referred to the Inspector General for further investigation. Their names have not been released publicly.
CNN identified one of the officers being investigated as Captain Joel Betancourt, who issued an order to delay the breach of the classrooms even as a Border Patrol Tactical Unit moves in and stops the gunman. As of Thursday, Betancourt remained on active duty. DPS declined to comment on Betancourt when asked by CNN on Friday.
Another DPS officer was under scrutiny Elizondo crimson, who left the department and was later hired as a police officer for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District. She was fired from that job after a CNN report what she did and said at Robb Elementary on the day of the massacre during the response.
McCraw told CNN in September that no officer would get a pass, adding that he would also take responsibility if necessary.
“I will be the first to resign, I will gladly resign, I will tender my resignation to the governor if I think there is any criminality in the Department of Public Safety. Period,” he said.
CNN is in a a coalition of news organizations to sue the DPS for records relating to the investigations that were withheld from the media and the public.
As the fallout continues after law enforcement’s weak response to the massacre at Robb Elementary, victims’ families are demanding greater accountability for officers.
The school board collapsed in August Peter Arredondo, who was the Uvalde school district police chief at the time of the shooting. State officials identified Arredondo as the police commander at the scene, although he has said he did not consider himself in charge.
At the time, DPS director McCraw blamed Arredondo for officers’ failure to engage the shooter, adding that the commander was “the only thing” that stopped officers. Local officials criticized McCraw and DPS for a lack of transparency in relation to their investigation.
In addition, some parents also called for the removal of Hal Harrell, who was the superintendent of the Uvalde school district. Harrell formally retired this week.
“I am truly grateful for your support and well wishes. My decision to retire has not been made lightly and was made after much prayer and consideration,” he said in a social media post dated October 10. taken as well as their families.”
Harrell’s resignation came months after a Texas state House committee investigated the response it was found that the school did not comply with the safety policies. The committee’s report also stated that the school had failed to properly prepare for the risk of an armed intruder and the common practice of leaving doors unlocked.
Before retiring, Harrell announced safety measuresincluding adding at least 33 officers, 500 cameras as well as installing fences around the campuses.
The area is since suspended operations of his police force and placed a lieutenant and another top school official on leave as part of his investigation.
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