/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7c8f5bdd5818cc755b0d928b5bf373aa/Robb%20Elementary%20File%20EL%20TT%2009%20CROPPED.jpg)
The Uvalde Police Department on Wednesday disclosed that it had failed to release some officer body camera and cruiser dashboard footage from the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting to news organizations, including The Texas Tribune and ProPublica, as part of a settlement agreement to a lawsuit.
Police Chief Homer Delgado said that after the city released a trove of files to the news organizations on Saturday, an officer informed the department that some of his body camera footage from the May 24, 2022, shooting was missing. The chief said he ordered an audit of the department’s servers, which turned up “several additional videos” that should have been released.
Delgado said the department has turned over the footage to District Attorney Christina Mitchell for review and ordered an internal affairs investigation into how the error occurred. That probe will determine which department employees are responsible, he said, and what disciplinary actions may be warranted. The city will also evaluate the judge’s order governing the release of documents to ensure that it is complying with the terms of the settlement reached with the news organizations, Delgado said.
“I have ordered an immediate review of all footage collection and storage protocols within UPD and will institute a new process to ensure our department lives up to the highest standards,” Delgado, who joined the department last year, said in a statement. “The Uvalde community and the public deserve nothing less.”
The revelation that Uvalde police withheld materials from a lawsuit with news organizations comes as the department seeks to rebuild trust with city residents, many of whom have demanded transparency over officers’ flawed response to the shooting in which 19 children and two teachers died.
Whether the district attorney’s office had access to this footage as it evaluated whether officers’ conduct during the shooting was criminal is unclear. Mitchell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A grand jury in June indicted former Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo and Officer Adrian Gonzales on felony child endangerment charges. No Uvalde Police Department officers have been charged.
Delgado did not say which officers or cruisers the missing footage belongs to. Twenty-five city police department officers responded to the shooting, according to the Texas House report on the shooting.
The full program is now LIVE for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Explore the program featuring more than 100 unforgettable conversations on topics covering education, the economy, Texas and national politics, criminal justice, the border, the 2024 elections and so much more. See the full program.
