SAN ANTONIO — Representative Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, announced Friday that members of the Uvalde Police Department will testify in front of the Texas House committee investigating law enforcement's response to the shooting at Robb Elementary.
Burrows, who chairs the panel, had cast doubt Thursday about whether city police would voluntarily participate.
The Republican applied pressure in a social media post, asking why Uvalde PD wouldn't want "to help determine the facts for the Uvalde community and all Texans."
In brief remarks Friday, Burrows said department members agreed to testify after a series of conversations involving committee members, city leadership and police department leadership.
"It took a little bit longer than we initially had expected, but those conversations did develop through the day," he said. "They are going to be cooperating."
It's not clear which officers will answer committee members' questions. Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez was on a scheduled vacation when the shooting happened and did not respond to the active scene.
But Uvalde city police were among the first to respond to the shooting. Three Uvalde PD officers entered the school just two minutes after the shooter went in, according to Department of Public Safety head Steve McCraw.
The gunman shot two of those Uvalde PD officers through the classroom door, though they were not seriously injured, McCraw said. The injured responders retreated and returned later.
School police chief Pete Arredondo entered the school with another city officer around the same time, he told the Texas Tribune on June 9.
Arredondo has not yet agreed to testify to the committee, Burrows said. But three other Uvalde school police officers testified Friday.
Burrows did not announce when city police will testify. The committee meets again in Uvalde on Monday.
The panel has so far conducted its interviews behind closed doors in executive session, citing the "quasi-judicial" nature of its work.