Police have been trained to confront the shooters of the many horrific attacks that followed the Columbine High School massacre 20 years ago.
Officers in Uvalde (Texas) took over an hour to kill the shooter who killed 19 children. This is a crucial part of a Justice Department investigation into the police response.
This rare federal review is occurring amid increasing, anxious questions and shifting information from the police. According to authorities, several officers entered the elementary school two minutes after Salvador Ramos was alleged to have opened fire. However, he wasn’t stopped by a tactical team until more than an hour later.
This timeline is confusing for law enforcement experts such as Jarrod Burguan who was the San Bernardino police chief when San Bernardino was attacked by terrorists in 2015. Within two minutes of their arrival, officers entered the facility, which was a training centre for residents with developmental disabilities.
Burguan stated Monday that “Columbine changed all.” Officers now have the ability to quickly form up and enter buildings in order to confront shooters. This will prevent them from further killing more people. This has been practiced for many years.”
Officials from the Justice Department will be asking a variety of questions about Uvalde’s police response to the Texas shootings. The review, which praised the San Bernardino response, was more than 100 pages in length.
Anthony Coley, a spokesperson for the Justice Department, stated that the review would be fair, impartial, and independent and that the results would be made available to the public. It could take several months. The department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services is responsible for the review.
Maria Haberfeld is a John Jay College of Criminal Justice professor in New York. She was curious about why a school chief could tell more than 12 officers to wait in a corridor at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary.
She said, “The crucial question for me is who designated him to be the head of the team?”
Officials claim that the suspect was believed to be barricaded in adjoining classrooms, and therefore no active threat. Haberfeld asked why school officers with less experience dealing with active shooters didn’t get the job.
The U.S. Border Patrol tactical unit used a janitor’s key to unlock the classroom doors and kill the gunman. This raises more questions about how the team gained entry.
It’s not a fortified castle from Middle Ages. She said, “It’s a door.” They knew exactly what to do. The key is not required.
The Justice review will not investigate the crime or hold police criminally or civilly responsible. Thor Eells (executive director of the National Tactical Officers Association) said that it will likely examine how police communicated with one another. Pete Arredondo, the school chief, didn’t comment on why he believed the shooter was in barricades.
