Uvalde independent investigation into shooting to be presented

Updated: Mar 6, 2024 / 11:13 AM EST

UVALDE, Texas (KXAN) — A special Uvalde City Council meeting is scheduled for this Thursday at 2 p.m. to present the independent expert investigative report into the Uvalde Police Department’s response to Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022.

The special meeting comes nearly two years after former Mayor Don McLaughlin issued a press release where he expressed his frustration with obtaining information from the Uvalde County District Attorney and the Texas Department of Public Safety, and announced the city would be initiating its own investigation.

“The City and its Police Department strive for transparency and are done waiting for the District Attorney and DPS to value our community’s need for answers,” McLaughlin stated in his release.

Following the presentation, citizens who sign up prior to the meeting will have the opportunity to provide input and address council before council considers waiving attorney-client privilege regarding the investigation, according to the agenda.

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McLaughlin selected former Austin Police Department detective Jesse Prado, owner of JPPI Investigations LLC, to conduct the internal investigation.

According to JPPI’s website, Prado spent over 25 years with the Austin Police Department where he spent the majority of his time serving on a covert/undercover unit within the Organized Crime Division.

Uvalde City Council meeting records show the city has paid nearly $100,000 for the independent investigation.

The May 2022 shooting killed 19 students and two teachers at the school. In January, the Department of Justice released a nearly 600-page report on its findings from the shooting and law enforcement’s response. The document revealed themes related to leadership failures on the day the Uvalde elementary shooting took place, as well as a lack of communication, collaboration and cooperation in the days and months following.

The DOJ’s findings followed similar themes to a summer 2022 Texas House Committee investigation into the shooting. The House’s 77-page document uncovered the miscommunication among officers which led to a delay in stopping the shooter.