Uvalde Officer Faces Trial Over Delayed Response

More than three years after a gunman stormed Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, the first criminal trial tied to the police response is getting underway, as families brace for yet another painful chapter. Jury selection began Monday in Corpus Christi in the case of Adrian Gonzales, a former Uvalde police officer who was among the first on the scene on May 24, 2022, when 19 children and two teachers were killed, per the New York Times. Gonzales faces 29 counts of abandoning and endangering a child, the first of two officers to stand trial over what multiple investigations have described as cascading failures in leadership, tactics, and training. A judge moved the trial out of Uvalde over concerns an impartial jury couldn't be found there.

Prosecutors say Gonzales knew where the gunman was but failed to confront or distract him before the shooter entered the two adjoining classrooms where the killings took place during a 77-minute standoff. "If there is a duty to act and you fail to act, that's child endangerment," special prosecutor Bill Turner told potential jurors, per the Texas Tribune. Gonzales' attorney, former Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood, argues Gonzales has been unfairly "singled out" among the more than 370 officers who responded, maintaining his client is innocent. Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell has declined to comment. The jury is expected to see extensive body-camera footage and hear from investigators, survivors, and victims' families.

Meanwhile, former school district police chief Pete Arredondo, identified as the de facto incident commander that day, faces 10 counts of abandoning and endangering a child. He's accused of wrongly treating the gunman as a barricaded suspect rather than an active shooter, a decision that will weigh heavily in his trial; video shows him trying to negotiate with the shooter for more than half an hour.

Criminal convictions for officers who fail to act in school shootings are rare. A Florida jury acquitted former Parkland deputy Scot Peterson in 2023. In Uvalde, survivors like eighth-grader AJ Martinez, who's still carrying shrapnel in his body, plan to attend at least part of Gonzales' trial, seeking what his mother calls "some sort of accountability" and a step toward closure, even as physical and emotional recovery continues. If convicted, Gonzales could see up to two years behind bars, per the Times. Opening statements are set to begin Tuesday, per the AP.