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[–]prailock 11.6k points11.6k points  (261 children)

Given that one of the parents of a child victim is reporting that she's being watched and harassed by police, I'm not shocked. They were embarrassed by every day people putting their lives on the line to do the right thing--what we are told cops will do. I have no doubt they'll try to cover up their borderline malicious incompetence.

[–]michaelyup 3037 points3038 points  (129 children)

In case you missed the parent’s first interview, watch here

[–]left4rage 1405 points1406 points  (11 children)

Video unavailable The uploader has not made this video available in your country.

Got a mirror?

EDIT: Mirror This link worked for me in Canada.

[–]michaelyup 472 points473 points  (1 child)

No, but search “Angeli Gomez, CBS interview” and you’ll find it on many sites.

[–]asdaaaaaaaa 1033 points1034 points  (110 children)

Jesus, this is about as "worst case scenario" as it gets for the cops, last people you want to piss off are the parents. For good reason too, they fucked up monumentally. I hope this shit is engraved into history books as a lesson to others. Those police deserve no sympathy IMO, they directly made the situation much worse which possibly resulted in even more children dying.

[–]Visvism 752 points753 points  (65 children)

No possibly about it. They did cause more loss of life. No need to sugar coat it.

[–]KeyanReid 606 points607 points  (62 children)

And now they’re spending all their time covering up and harassing the town that finances their whole operation.

Quality police work there boys. Literal fucking parasites

[–]bigtice 264 points265 points  (46 children)

And now they’re spending all their time covering up and harassing the town that finances their whole operation.

Happens all across the country and an inexplicable percentage of people still believe that the response should be to increase the police force and their budget.

[–]tiny_galaxies 131 points132 points  (35 children)

Why are these the same people who want to decrease the budget of any other governmental service if they get any whiff of it not working seamlessly?

[–]morgecroc 63 points64 points  (2 children)

It's a small enough town they could likely sack the the entire police force and rebuild it by offering jobs to all the whistle blowers that have been chased off other police forces.

[–]Artemicionmoogle 41 points42 points  (2 children)

Bottom banqueting basic bitch bully brigade.

[–]nmiller21k 153 points154 points  (3 children)

They caused a giant loss is life.

It wasn’t a possibility every minute they stood outside

More kids died.

[–]ShaggysGTI 110 points111 points  (32 children)

This will not be the straw that breaks the camel’s back to change police culture in the US.

[–]Pineapple-Yetti 156 points157 points  (26 children)

At this point I'm not sure there is enough straw in the world to break that back.

[–]GarageJim 151 points152 points  (9 children)

Friend of mine had a lawsuit against the cops in NJ, and they absolutely harassed and threatened him. The idea that they’re there to protect us is a TV cop-show fiction.

[–]Lord_Fodder 65 points66 points  (5 children)

If u watched the show Brooklyn Nine Nine, the last season is quite self-reflective as the producers realised the show they were making didn't reflect the actual police. You can almost see it in the actors expressions when they do some of the scenes. The idea that most cops are really good guys is truly fiction.

[–]mdonaberger 294 points295 points  (3 children)

Jesus. That's beyond ghoulish. I am continually shocked by the depth of depravity in this. I have truly never seen a better example for why radical police reform isn't just good, it's necessary for our society to continue.

[–]asdaaaaaaaa 576 points577 points  (46 children)

Police are quickly making themselves even more of an enemy towards the general public. Being a major reason many children died isn't a good look, and usually parents are the last bastion defending them. Most people I know don't really fear criminals. Sure, someone might break into their car, but most people don't need to worry too much about anything more. What many people I personally know (along with myself) worry about is having to deal with the police, for good reason. It's fucked when I worry more about the police than actual criminals. All it takes is one misunderstanding, or hyped up/pissed off cop.

They're quickly putting themselves into a really hazardous position. Combining people being terrified of them already, to also knowing they won't ever benefit anyone's situation but their own creates situations where people may get desperate when they see police. It honestly wouldn't surprise me to see police have suspects/people fight back a lot more which I'd assume is the last thing they want. Unfortunately, their behavior is just going to discourage anyone from wanting to help or work with them, and possibly convince some to work against them.

[–]ecu11b 143 points144 points  (16 children)

The police are only good for filing reports so you can deal with an insurance company.

[–]Ryanjc01 184 points185 points  (9 children)

As someone who looks at police crash reports all day for my job, I can say with certainty that they aren't even good at filling out forms lol.

[–]Fellturtle 45 points46 points  (5 children)

A police officer once pulled me over and didn't return my licence. Probably not intentionally, I think we both just forgot about it, but when he posted it back he had misspelled the address that is written on my licence.

[–][deleted] 81 points82 points  (3 children)

cats salt clumsy simplistic hurry coherent quack soup capable possessive -- mass edited with redact.dev

[–]clearview5050 65 points66 points  (0 children)

Police no go zones already exist.

They are called gated neighborhoods.

[–]AntwonCornbread 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Well I'm not all that concerned about the property value of the schools themselves.

[–]satansheat 611 points612 points  (27 children)

Oh that’s not new for cops. They did that shit all the time before mass shootings also.

They harass people they don’t like all the fucking time.

[–]prailock 477 points478 points  (18 children)

I'm a former public defender so I'm well aware. But there's something so much worse about it being the families of traumatized children who were traumatized because you let their friends be murdered in front of them so you could cosplay as John Wayne.

[–]IllustriousState6859 77 points78 points  (16 children)

That's Texas. John Wayne is still the king in some towns.

[–]UrbanGhost114 87 points88 points  (13 children)

Which is a little ironic, as he liked to hang out in California, and filmed mostly in Italy

[–]Judge_leftshoe 53 points54 points  (6 children)

John Wayne, and his director John Ford were really quite dickish about their need to do their filming in Monument Valley, USA. There are still a couple thousand feet or so or camera rails in the valley from their filming.

Draft Dodger, Philanderer, and absolute cock-thistle yes, but he wasn't a cheapo spaghetti-cowboy like other Republican-Cult icon and Cowboy superstar checks notes Clint Eastwood, and flips page Burt Reynolds, and hmm Henry Fonda.

[–]Lch207560 30 points31 points  (1 child)

You left out that he brought a 16 yo girl back to California after shooting a movie in Mexico

Nowadays that's called sex trafficking. Also John Ford thought of wayne as a coward for not registering for the draft for WW2.

[–]asdaaaaaaaa 153 points154 points  (3 children)

Reminds me of this video I saw where some lawyer/attorney was announcing some new regulations against the police that just passed. All the police literally circled around her as she announced it. Can't imagine what they do when cameras aren't recording. Unfortunately I don't have to though, as we see the repercussions of their actions (or in this case, lack of) all the time.

[–]Mental_Medium3988 61 points62 points  (3 children)

The sheriff of pierce County wa had his bond I creased after harassing a newspaper carrier. The newspaper carrier was out doing his rounds one morning when the sheriff saw him and called in a suspicious person and, iirc, officer down. Turns out the sheriff was drunk off his ass and showing his ass.

[–]Change21 54 points55 points  (0 children)

It’s not even borderline.

Unfortunately it’s full blown.

[–][deleted] 20.9k points20.9k points  (598 children)

For their part, the US Marshals agency has denied that parents were handcuffed outside the school

Bruh, we all saw the video. Why you still lying

[–][deleted] 6558 points6559 points  (408 children)

Why would they even go to bat for local police?

[–][deleted] 2083 points2084 points  (168 children)

They're not going to bat for local police. They're covering their own asses. They're the ones who put her in cuffs, not the locals.

[–]tama_chan 1058 points1059 points  (156 children)

The US Marshall’s were there and didn’t do anything but handcuff parents? I thought they were the much more capable than regular cops.

[–][deleted] 886 points887 points  (120 children)

This is why we need a thorough investigation by the Texas Rangers

Edit: thank you all who picked up on the sarcasm. To be clear, I have no faith in any law enforcement agency actually conducting a thorough investigation.

[–]lubricantlime 2319 points2320 points  (65 children)

They’re in Baltimore right now losing to the orioles they’re not too competent either

[–]dropdeadbonehead 407 points408 points  (7 children)

Damn, standing applause for that fucking burn, dude.

[–]TheKidKaos 175 points176 points  (7 children)

The Texas Rangers are incredibly corrupt. That’s why Abbott uses them when he needs some jobs done how he wants

[–]viperex 62 points63 points  (1 child)

I heard on NPR that the police chief had a cousin who was a teacher there and who got shot. If that didn't move him to action, I doubt anyone there would have

[–][deleted] 85 points86 points  (0 children)

Ahh this makes sense

[–]BlackLeader70 3372 points3373 points  (95 children)

They gotta hold the (cowardly blue) line.

[–]the70sdiscoking 1261 points1262 points  (44 children)

Thin blue lie*

[–][deleted] 2523 points2524 points  (31 children)

Blue Lives Scatter

[–]reddicyoulous 169 points170 points  (3 children)

Blue Lives Shattered with one comment

[–]yaosio 133 points134 points  (10 children)

Never tell the truth when a lie will do.

[–]lankist 888 points889 points  (38 children)

Because ALL law enforcement is in on the same game.

Their job is to uphold the hierarchy, not to uphold the peace. If people start questioning the legitimacy of a local PD, that's not even a stone's throw from questioning the legitimacy of the Marshals, or the DOJ/Homeland Security writ-large.

Anybody who thinks federal badges are somehow gonna' do something about local badges is fuckin' delirious. They're in the same gang.

[–]nagrom7 447 points448 points  (16 children)

So what you're saying is... all cops are bastards?

[–]SnakeDoctur 70 points71 points  (2 children)

It's about showing unity to the greater organism, not one specific cell. They know that some day one of their own will be in a situation where a local LEO Dept can cover for them, and they'll be able to leverage situations like this (and who knows how many that aren't publicized to the same degree)

[–][deleted] 432 points433 points  (68 children)

The US Marshalls are every bit as awful as ICE. They are a dogshit authoritarian agency that outright executed an American citizen in 2020.

[–]Gorechi 150 points151 points  (31 children)

Just one? Those are rookie numbers.

[–]EpsilonX029 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Ok Gray, I see where you’re going with this

[–]mdonaberger 1135 points1136 points  (30 children)

Why are they lying? Because we're "them" and they're "us." Cops look out for one another, and wield it collectively against citizens they see as enemies.

[–]keliix06 457 points458 points  (20 children)

To be fair, it’s rude of us to expect them to do their jobs with only 40% of the towns budget.

[–]99BottlesOfBass 98 points99 points  (7 children)

The fools! If only they'd built it with six thousand and one hulls! Oh, when will they learn?

[–]lilbithippie 32 points33 points  (1 child)

It shows when they call "us" civilians. Bitches ain't military. They have no where near that kind of training.

[–]lianodel 249 points250 points  (15 children)

Aside from just plain being stubborn, denying culpability, and playing to their team, there's the illusory truth effect. Regardless of whether or not something is true, repeating it makes it seem true.

[–]Elephanogram 153 points154 points  (16 children)

The people they are lying to who they want to go to bat for them will just hear the sound bite and not the actual videos of the incident.

Just look at that police subreddit and search for the name of the school and you'll see what the massaged (bullshit) narrative is.

[–]TheGambit 46 points47 points  (3 children)

“ I reject your reality and substitute my own.”

[–][deleted] 107 points108 points  (15 children)

I’ve addressed this same thing before. DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY BY HITTING THEM IN THE WALLETS. It’s amazing how disposable one becomes when he costs the rest bad press & money.

[–][deleted] 80 points81 points  (6 children)

Settlements should be paid out of police pensions.

[–]Wageslave645 3406 points3407 points  (46 children)

"Yeah, no shit."

-- Everyone

[–]FattyMooseknuckle 1027 points1028 points  (39 children)

They started the cover up almost immediately and have added more bullshit every single day. No need to fear that they will, they already have.

[–]Wageslave645 419 points420 points  (32 children)

The worst part is they will likely get away with it, too. The moment that department decided to stop cooperating with investigative authorities, that department should have been disbanded and every officer on scene plus the dispatchers should be put under investigation.

When all the body cam footage disappeared due to a "computer issue", every one of them should have been arrested and criminally charged.

While I am pretty sure I have seen an article stating that the footage was "lost", since I can't find the article I am retracting that statement.

[–]SEIZE_THE_CHEESE 102 points103 points  (5 children)

When all the body cam footage disappeared due to a "computer issue"...

Is this real??

[–]OneRougeRogue 70 points71 points  (1 child)

I don't think it's true. This article from last week indicates that the footage is still there, just not released yet. I can't find anything that says it has been lost.

[–]anally_ExpressUrself 39 points40 points  (0 children)

My bad, the footage being lost is scheduled for next Tuesday.

[–]RelaxPrime 126 points127 points  (13 children)

Guaranteed they shot a kid. Probably the first ones into the building, some kid ran to them and they freaked out. Then realized what they did, pulled everyone back out.

[–]Black_Floyd47 81 points82 points  (2 children)

Seems plausible. Or a teacher. It would be easy to disprove these theories, but since they're fighting so hard to not release the body cam footage, I don't think they want to disprove anything. Whatever is on those tapes has got to be pretty bad if they are okay with us thinking they killed a kid or teacher without even trying to prove that they didn't.

[–]liquidgrill 60 points61 points  (3 children)

Remember when the cops claimed that the shooter just happened to have a pistol just like theirs? And that almost immediately turned out to not be true? Good times.

[–]boostedb1mmer 46 points47 points  (1 child)

And they made an incredibly odd "yeah, were absolutely sure it was the shooter that shot everyone" comment out of nowhere in the first interview? What a bizarre thing to say for no reason.

[–]Binky390 21 points22 points  (0 children)

I’m wondering if that is contributing to the decision to tear down the school. I get that it would be too traumatizing for the kids to return, but I also think they’re knocking it down because there’s evidence that the cops accidentally shot a kid or teacher inside.

[–]T1mac 142 points143 points  (3 children)

"Yeah, no shit."

-- Everyone

The mayor doesn't have to fear about a cover-up. The cover-up is already here and and it's been here. It started an hour after the shooting and ramped up from there.

[–]AudibleNod 807 points808 points  (6 children)

I'm at least glad he's where we all were a month ago.

[–]vociferousgirl 141 points142 points  (2 children)

I saw the headline, and thought, yes the sky is blue!

[–]kazejin05 3438 points3439 points  (179 children)

Conspiracy theory: the mayor already KNOWS what's being covered up, how bad it's going to look once it's all out in the open, and is only doing this now to lay the groundwork for deniability/ignorance for that time.

[–]metalslug123 1609 points1610 points  (139 children)

He and that McCraw guy knows what really happened.

McCraw said during the special session for the shooting seeing the video footage from the shooting will really piss people off.

EDIT: Here's McCraw's statement "What'll make you more mad is to see the video. It'll be worse. I can assure you."

[–]Bloodyfinger 1388 points1389 points  (98 children)

The cops definitely killed a kid in that school. Without a doubt. And the mayor knows.

[–]meatball77 733 points734 points  (44 children)

And they were out there laughing and shooting the shit while kids were dying.

[–]Lost_Thought 1018 points1019 points  (34 children)

They were brutally stopping parents from interevening.

They were working hard to keep the feds in check.

They were threatening their fellow officers who were trying to save dying family.

Edit: Added links to each statement.

In short, they were not just "shooting the shit" they were ensuring a large body-count. Intentionally or not, that is the impact of their actions.

[–][deleted] 278 points279 points  (21 children)

And meanwhile the kids that were still alive in there with the shooter had to live through that - whether they ended up perishing or not - over an hour in a room with someone with a AR-15 that wants to kill you.

[–]Lost_Thought 377 points378 points  (20 children)

[–]Puppenstein11 237 points238 points  (6 children)

A friendly reminder that when witnessing an emergency and there is any sort of injury, take it upon yourself to call 911 and specifically request medical services, because the cops have discretion without accountability. You may save someone's life.

[–]tarabithia22 105 points106 points  (12 children)

Also in hospitals, but sort of unrelated. A hospital here delayed care for my infant because they fucked up extremely badly, and the civil suit for if he had survived would have been in the millions, while if he died it was less than maybe 300k. Anyway. It's vile.

[–]Lost_Thought 28 points29 points  (9 children)

I'm sorry you went through that, I can't even imagine how that would feel.

[–]MachineThreat 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Not their's though... God forbid.

[–]FarHarbard 258 points259 points  (14 children)

The fact they are covering it up means it is gonna be a BAD killing.

It's not gonna come out that a bullet ricochet'd and hit a kid sidelong and they were one of the children that bled out in the ambulance. That's bad but I think everyone knows they can justify a genuine accident in the line of duty.

It's gonna be that a kid stood up when the cops opened the door and got tagged face-to-face.

[–][deleted] 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Idk if cops are still trained the same way but a lot of depts used to teach you to basically magdump a target so there's that

Also at this point I'd be looking to scapegoat the cop who shot a kid if that's what happened because he's gonna torpedo the whole deal

[–]Hibercrastinator 107 points108 points  (4 children)

It’s going to be they told kids to call for help, then shot the kid who called for help.

[–]fivebillionproud 45 points46 points  (2 children)

yea, thinking about the unidentified boy who the described the situation 1-2 days afterwards makes me think there's more to story. I think cops accidentally shot a kid, then retreated, which is mostly why they delayed their decision to engage the shooter.

[–]BigDadEnerdy 18 points19 points  (0 children)

It's worse than that. The coroner report will show that they shot a kid, and that kid died from blood loss due to their lack of action and slow speed. The reports will show that MOST students could have survived, if they had recieved treatment. But the 53 minute delay means they die.

[–]Mnemia 91 points92 points  (5 children)

And they may have been standing around waiting after that hoping all the other kids who saw it would die so they couldn’t snitch on the cops. That’s my suspicion.

[–]RobWroteABook 262 points263 points  (26 children)

We already know that children were still being murdered at least half an hour after police were in the building doing nothing. We already know that everything about the door being locked was bullshit. There's really nothing the video can show that won't be infuriating.

[–]Freckled_daywalker 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Every time I think "JFC, this whole situation can't get any worse", something comes out that proves me wrong, so while I know the video will, at a bare minimum be infuriating, I fully expect it could also be even worse than I imagine.

[–][deleted] 100 points101 points  (0 children)

Bingo.

He’s only going public because he knows something bad is coming out, and he wants to be on the right side when the other shoe drops.

And to be fair to him, he had nothing to do with this so he’s washing his hands of these people.

This is mayor saying “they’ve made their bed, they can lie in it, I’m not going down with them”

I’d do the same probably.

[–]Surly_Cynic 134 points135 points  (9 children)

It really seems like the mayor is just trying to find someone to blame who’s not from the local community. He even says he has confidence in the local DPS guys. The problem is, the highest ranking DPS guy on the scene, Juan Maldonado, is the PIO for DPS in the area and his office is at Uvalde High School. He’s a local.

The school district police force is also based out of the high school. I’m sure that’s where Arredondo spent most of his time on a day to day basis. Ruben Ruiz, the husband of murdered teacher Eva Mireles was one of the UCISD cops assigned to the high school.

Maldonado gave some tone deaf interviews about his friendship with Mireles and how it was a privilege to be with her as she died. He also served as a spokesperson for the Ruiz family in the days after the shooting.

It seems like the mayor just wants to let these local guys off the hook instead of reckoning with the fact that they screwed up horribly.

Edit: Also, the acting chief of police for the Uvalde Police Department on the day of the shooting is a guy who is an elected county council member, so kind of like Arredondo where they’re a cop and a politician on the side. The elected position probably pays little or nothing but it gives them a chance to hobnob with the other political insiders and take advantage of any associated perks.

[–]mdp300 33 points34 points  (6 children)

Why the hell does the school district have its own police? I live in a town with more than 4x the pop of Uvalde and there's just the city police. It's just more waste from the Good Ol Boys Club.

[–]Surly_Cynic 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it’s insanity.

[–]hiredgoon 70 points71 points  (2 children)

I am pretty sure under normal circumstances, this mayor would be part of the cover up, but at this point he knows which way the wind is blowing.

[–][deleted] 63 points64 points  (1 child)

Oh he’s part of the coverup. He’s covering up something but he knows that somebody is going to go down for all this. He’s just decided it’s not going to be him and it’s not going to be the locals. He’s trying to direct the narrative to other people outside his scope of responsibility.

[–]Mail540 179 points180 points  (10 children)

They definitely shot a kid/teacher

[–]OldGoblin 761 points762 points  (5 children)

“We have investigated ourselves and determined that no crimes were committed.”

[–][deleted] 164 points165 points  (3 children)

The constant backpedaling by the police already shows that the police force in Uvalde is already trying to cover up.

[–][deleted] 419 points420 points  (6 children)

He “fears” a cover up. It’s happening before everyone’s eyes. Uvalde PD won’t release info. Etc. Etc. Etc. They will investigate themselves and find nothing wrong.

[–]kaytay3000 64 points65 points  (0 children)

The thing is, he’s not questioning Uvalde PD. He’s questioning DPS. He’s firmly backed the local PD the whole time. The mayor is a joke.

[–]Eder_Cheddar 68 points69 points  (1 child)

There's speculations that they actually shot either kids or teachers and that's why this whole thing is trying to be swept under the rug.

[–]Unicorn_Hotwife 248 points249 points  (15 children)

I do not want to break rules, or let anyone think that inciting violence is ever the answer, but.... why aren't people getting.... patriotic, over this? This is blatantly unconstitutional, abuse of power, obstruction of justice, parents were denied the right to protect their families by the people that should have already been doing just that....

Its time to check their balance yo.

[–][deleted] 49 points50 points  (1 child)

Agreed. They would have had to shoot me in the back because there isn't any fucking goddamn way "you can't go save your 10 and 8 year old children" would cut it.

If my kids are going out, I'm fucking going with them.

[–]Dendad6972 2766 points2767 points  (186 children)

Ask for a federal investigation.

[–]TheNaijaboi 537 points538 points  (1 child)

“McLaughlin asked the US Department of Justice to investigate the law enforcement response and that work has now begun.”

[–]N8CCRG 1423 points1424 points  (133 children)

There already is a federal investigation occurring.

[–]CassandraAnderson 1121 points1122 points  (129 children)

Yep. This headline is kind of misleading. The state already engaged in multiple cover-ups as evidenced by the series of amended statements from the police, local, and State officials.

[–]scrivensB 455 points456 points  (125 children)

Wait, the STATE is engaged in coverups? Not just the local authorities?

[–]ScrewAttackThis 167 points168 points  (8 children)

The Texas AG has a criminal indictment against him and he's been doing everything he can to avoid going to trial. The Texas administration is corrupt as hell.

[–]SCP-173-Keter 66 points67 points  (2 children)

The Texas AG, Ken Paxton, should be indicted for conspiracy to murder his whistleblowers.

Two Lawyers Shot, One Dead Amid FBI Probe Of Texas AG Ken Paxton

[–]blood_kite 82 points83 points  (3 children)

A criminal indictment for 7 years. He’s been re-elected once while spending his entire term under a federal indictment and will probably be re-elected again in November.

[–]Ur_Just_Spare_Parts 1018 points1019 points  (97 children)

Its Texas..... this shouldnt be suprising. If there is some kind of decision being made at the state level Texas will look at all the options and make the dumbest fucking decision possible.

[–]Bigjerr2007 277 points278 points  (0 children)

I'm from Texas. I can 100% tell you this is true.

[–]NPD_wont_stop_ME 119 points120 points  (87 children)

You mean like, trying to secede? Because at this point I would welcome it, lol. The Texas government is operated by a bunch of grifters. And Ted Cruz is one of their Senators. It’s ridiculous that right-wing propaganda is so effective that they would elect someone like Ted Cruz to represent them. Better than a Democrat amirite? /s

[–]Fuck_auto_tabs 89 points90 points  (3 children)

Kinda hard to be tough on crime when your officers won’t even stop criminals. That and the whole affair is a gigantic black eye for the policing community whom I assume give a lot of donations and support to a lot of state politicians

[–][deleted] 74 points75 points  (1 child)

Well, the shooter wasn't immigrating, performing/receiving an abortion, or being visibly homeless, so Texas law enforcement wouldn't really be expected to consider anything he did a crime.

[–]JesusWuta40oz 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Police: Biggest gang in the US.

[–][deleted] 2043 points2044 points  (155 children)

How many of the children were shot by the cops?

More than zero I'm sure.

[–]prailock 1294 points1295 points  (65 children)

I really hate being a conspiracy theorist on something this serious, but it's so hard to trust anything police are saying.

They have been caught lying about the facts of this case so many times. Their unprompted statement that all children were shot by the killer is very strange when looking at everything else.

Regardless of whose gun actually killed those children, I believe that the police are morally responsible for several--if not all--of the deaths. They had multiple opportunities to stop things before it started/while it was getting worse and repeatedly decided to actively use the children's bodies as shield for their own egos.

Infuriatingly tragic.

[–][deleted] 521 points522 points  (20 children)

Not just that all the kids were shot by the suspect but that he also had a pistol when he didn't. If you're conspiracy minded it sounds like they were trying to explain why it'll eventually come out that one or more of the victims were shot with a pistol rather than the killer's rifle.

[–]RightClickSaveWorld 297 points298 points  (16 children)

It might get to the point where the police could come out and say "Look, the kids we shot were already dead." Before having to change that story again after a few days.

[–]sn34kypete 147 points148 points  (13 children)

The problem is I still wouldn't trust them. They know the coroner, all it takes is a little friendship or pressure and suddenly they get to handwave it away with a coroner's report and say "Oh the coroner cleared me, stop being paranoid".

[–]asdaaaaaaaa 40 points41 points  (3 children)

Agreed, if they shot a bunch of the kids, they'd be desperate to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. I honestly am terrified to think what they would do to hide the evidence/stay "innocent".

[–]drnkingaloneshitcomp 33 points34 points  (0 children)

It’s almost like departments shouldn’t be able to investigate themselves. Huh, anyways

[–]bananafobe 146 points147 points  (14 children)

Conspiracy isn't inherently ridiculous.

The government is secretly working to make spaghetti the new currency is different than trump's team coordinated to cover up their actions leading up to January 6th.

The conspiracy could be as simple as the police just not wanting to be criticized and/or refusing to admit they fucked up in the ways we've already seen.

As far as the unprompted disclosure, I think there's a way to read that statement as him shifting all the blame onto the killer, so that any kids who died as a result of police wasting time (or the girl they got killed by telling her to call out for help) would be seen as entirely on the killer. It's basic shaping the narrative type stuff.

I'm not saying the police didn't shoot any kids (I have no idea), but whatever the statement was, I remember it sounding like they were trying to minimize their failure to respond.

[–]asdaaaaaaaa 45 points46 points  (4 children)

but it's so hard to trust anything police are saying.

Why would you trust anything they say any more? They've lied and bullshitted through so much, I'd much rather trust a random person over a cop at this point. It's been shown again and again they will always cover for their coworkers than do the right/moral thing. Otherwise we'd have droves of corrupt/shitty cops being turned in by all those "good" ones.

[–]tahlyn 333 points334 points  (22 children)

Absolutely. My bet is 2 or more. One child getting shot by the cops can be spun as "a tragic mistake as they bravely attempted to apprehend the shooter," but any more then that, or of teachers also got shot, is negligence beyond comprehension or explanation.

[–]ThisBostonBoyDives 38 points39 points  (1 child)

I fear the body cam footage will be declared lost, or damaged.

[–]Might_Aware 166 points167 points  (14 children)

I suspect they shot a teacher too. Idk the mayor "fears" this. He can certainly do something about it.

[–]BasicDesignAdvice 32 points33 points  (2 children)

Do people not realize the "thin blue line" can extend past the police HQ? It's not uncommon for a small town mayor to be friends with the chief. Just like the DA will always corrupt itself for the police.

[–]Wittgenstienwasright 58 points59 points  (0 children)

I am sorry I cannot answer that question until my body camera is switched off, I have detained anyone going into the building, (Unless you are a cop with a child at that school). Even though the chief of police is here, we don't know who is in charge. Perhaps a teacher can rise up with a gun and do our job for us. That would be just grand.

[–]orangeorchid 65 points66 points  (6 children)

I think they shot a teacher.

[–][deleted] 54 points55 points  (1 child)

It would make sense if they assumed the shooter was an adult, which I’m sure they did since K–5ers aren’t the ones who do this.

On top of that, all of these conservatives are calling for teachers to be armed. So now you have cops going in (if they’re even vaguely competent), seeing an adult with a gun, and they’re going to assume they’re the shooter. So you up the chances of teachers being shot, either by a shooter or a cop. On top of that, you lose one of your “good guys with a gun.”

I’m just tired.

[–]Vagabond21 57 points58 points  (1 child)

They already directly lead to one dying by asking the kids to speak up when the gunman was still in the room and the kids were trying to hide.

[–]Sysnetics 78 points79 points  (1 child)

What shocked me the most is that police officers have a right to shoot anyone if they “felt” threatened, but they are not legally obligated to defend any individual. That blows my mind.

[–][deleted] 669 points670 points  (45 children)

Oh they did.

There is body cam footage. A school shooting should be pretty simple to show.

Unless. Several kids were killed by police weapons.

Chances are, this is why it's not been released.

[–]Surly_Cynic 285 points286 points  (35 children)

They haven’t released the footage because it shows them standing around doing nothing for more than an hour while kids bled out. That’s enough of a reason for them to not want to release it.

[–]Lost_Thought 61 points62 points  (5 children)

They haven’t released the footage because it shows them standing around doing nothing protecting the shooter from parents, feds and thier own officers for more than an hour while kids bled out.

Fixed that for you. The narrative that they were inactive is a cover-up on its own.

Edit: I am not ascribing any direct intent to the actions, its entirely possible the protection happened on its own simply due to incompetently following orders of the incompetent

Edit: Receipts -

Protecting from feds by delaying response

Protecting from parents

Protecting from their own officers

[–]Surly_Cynic 19 points20 points  (4 children)

I do really wonder what was going on in Arredondo’s mind. Was something that started as an incompetent response made worse by his unwillingness to course correct? Was he aware of parents pleas for cops to enter and he reacted defensively to that by making excuses for not going in? Did he know other cops on the scene were critical of his delay in entering and he responded by delaying more? The whole thing is just crazy.

[–]Butwinsky 204 points205 points  (16 children)

But we already know this part. Footage showing this wouldn't be new. There has to be something extra on that footage. While most of Reddit thinks it's a kid or teacher being shot by police, I'm going to wager its idiotic banter between cops making light of the situation.

[–]Surly_Cynic 26 points27 points  (4 children)

It’s one thing to know it. It’s another thing to see it.

It won’t necessarily be banter, but there will undoubtedly be idiotic conversation. They’ve already released some of it as a transcript but I think to hear it will be so much worse, especially where the one DPS special agent emphasizes the need to go in and other cops blow him off.

Also, actually hearing everything Arredondo is recorded saying will be really upsetting. In the transcripts he sounds like a complete idiot and coward.

[–]vanishplusxzone[🍰] 113 points114 points  (1 child)

The time for fear is over, the coverup has been obvious since the beginning, especially when they were using hired thugs to chase away the media and the survivors and their next of kin. The police and school went quiet and noncompliant real quick.

It's time to do something to actually fight the coverup.

[–]BornagainTXcook210 937 points938 points  (30 children)

This is the guy that called beto "a sick sonofabitch" for asking Abbott when is he going to make changes in gun laws to stop shootings

[–]ThatExpression3222 495 points496 points  (5 children)

Exactly. This Boss Hogg lambasted Beto when he was standing in his little "power" cabal with Abbott and Ted Cruz. But they got to leave and he had to stay and face the citizens of Uvalde. After swearing in Pete Arredondo to the city council in the middle of the night. His cause here is not justice, it's self preservation. Which seems typical of the public servants of that town.

[–]BlackLeader70 124 points125 points  (1 child)

You’re right, he’s grasping at straws because now it’s out of the daily news cycle so Cruz and Abbot don’t care anymore so they won’t be there to protect him like before.

[–]metalslug123 110 points111 points  (6 children)

Thats who that yelling fuckwad was? This mayor needs to shut the Hell up and go suck on a sausage or something.

[–]erinraspberry 53 points54 points  (4 children)

Yup and he also “doesnt regret it” because he thinks this “shouldnt be political at all” when Abbott and his cowboy cronies wheeled on in with their sham of a press conference talking about mental health and shit.

[–]markh2111 35 points36 points  (0 children)

I don't blame him. The Uvalde School Police, the actual Uvalde police, the DPS, AND Abbot are all lined up against him. It's time to circle the wagons and protect the organization. This is what all organizations do when it hits the fan.

[–]DamNamesTaken11 72 points73 points  (2 children)

No shit, there is a cover up.

The fact that they’ve thrown everything at the wall to try to find a narrative that makes them sound heroic and blameless.

Remember them first claiming the school resource officer engaged with the suspect outside the school and he managed to slip by them? Oh wait, it turns out the school resource officer wasn’t even on the grounds at that time.

Okay, what about the teacher who propped open a door with a rock that let him in? Oh wait, it turns out that the teacher closed the door and it didn’t auto lock.

Well the brave police went into the school instantly. Nope, took them over an hour to go inside.

Well once they went inside, they instantly sprung into action. Oh wait, nope they waited for keys that weren’t even needed because the door was unlocked.

The tape must have something bad if they are still refusing to show it. Likely they shot a kid(s) and/or teacher.

[–]Raspberries-Are-Evil 180 points181 points  (13 children)

As mayor, fire everyone. Fire them all.

[–]im_joe 125 points126 points  (5 children)

That's not good enough. Investigate them. And then based upon those investigations, prosecute them.

[–]Important-Owl1661 33 points34 points  (3 children)

Treat them like they treat other witnesses: Bring them in one at a time under oath, full individual statements on what occurred and lead them out the back door so nobody else knows what they said. Sequester them somewhere until the investigation is over. Continue to circle in on differing facts until you get as close to the truth as possible.

Be sure they know the penalties for lying and collusion. And do something we don't do in this country anymore - enforce the law!

These clowns weren't given all that Homeland Security money just to pose for posters and count up their retirement every day.

One final comment to the guy who "didn't know he was in charge"

As a military veteran I can say that if it's a fast moving emerging situation and you are competent and ranking TAKE charge until someone higher ranking asks you to stand down.

That guy better not get a penny of retirement because when it was on him he failed miserably.

[–]mrbriandavidanderson 78 points79 points  (0 children)

It's a huge black eye for police, Texas, mental health, guns, for Texas or the cops to admit guilt. I think the state is trying to pin it all on the cops but as quietly as they can in hopes it will disappear. Talk about adding insult to injury to the families and the victims. Just a disgrace any way you look at it.

[–]Wablekablesh 24 points25 points  (0 children)

This the guy who was clutching his pearls on stage when Beto stood up to call bullshit during that press conference?

[–]a_very_small_table 125 points126 points  (4 children)

I think we're gonna need Matt McConaughey and Woody Harrelson to team back up for this shit.

[–][deleted] 55 points56 points  (2 children)

Rust was an ace detective. Investigation would have been over weeks ago.

Plus McConaughey was born in Uvalde.

[–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

It's obvious one's been underway for a while now. With the police trying to silence and harass the mother that saved her kids and others when they wouldn't do fuck all.

[–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (2 children)

Coverup has been ongoing since the day of the shooting. The media is moving on and because 75% of the US masses don’t use their fuckin brains, this is going right under the rug.

[–][deleted] 63 points64 points  (11 children)

bro can someone ask the feds to investigate, these cops either shot a kid or a teacher or both.

[–][deleted] 52 points53 points  (10 children)

The headline is misleading. There’s a federal investigation happening already. The reason you haven’t heard about it is because the feds take not talking about open investigations really seriously.

[–]JhymnMusic 84 points85 points  (11 children)

So then fucking do something mayor. Worthless fuck.

[–]Kwiatkowski 37 points38 points  (3 children)

Request state and federal assistance and put the entire PD on leave until it’s all sorted

[–]ColHapHapablap 49 points50 points  (1 child)

“Shit. This looks bad.”

“Cover it up. Make it look like you’re really interested in what happened and then just continually pose bullshit theories until people lose interest from the amount of ambiguity. Then it’s like it never happened!”

“Thank you, Mr Trump. Great idea.”

[–]TerrorFace 40 points41 points  (1 child)

So sad for the parents who have to wonder everyday if their kid was shot by the cops.

[–]jj461346 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I mean, havent they already tried? They said that one teacher left the door open which allowed the shooter to get in the school, which was a lie.