UVALDE, Texas — The City of Uvalde released a statement acknowledging officials had reviewed the DOJ's scathing Critical Incident Review of the Robb Elementary shooting released last week, saying it had already been working to address law enforcement recommendations after the botched police response.
Officials did not, however, specifically address what the Justice Department called "cascading failures" on the part of law enforcement at the scene in May 2022.
The report examined 14,000 pieces of evidence and concluded that the massacre, which claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers, could have been stopped sooner if law enforcement at the scene had responded more effectively. Hundreds of heavily armed officers were present, but waited more than an hour to confront the suspect in a response that was so disorganized experts believe it cost lives.
The response released by the city a week after the DOJ released its report didn't respond to specific findings or evidence contained in its 575 pages. Officials instead said that before they knew the results of the report, they invested in tools and training for law enforcement.
According to the city, that includes providing city police with new equipment including ballistic helmets, shields, radios and door-breaching tools; providing officers with nearly 1,700 combined hours of training to respond to active shooter situations, coordinating police responses and assessing threats; and creating or enhancing training programs with other local entities including the Uvalde CISD Police Department and Uvalde County Sheriff's Department.
Other training the city says it provided revolves around crisis intervention, firearms instruction, defensive tactics and Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training, or ALERRT.
The city says those steps began after the Robb shooting in 2022.
"After releasing the report, the U.S. Department of Justice has committed to providing the Uvalde Police Department with additional training, and we look forward to receiving that training to ensure we can use every tool available to protect the safety of the Uvalde community," the statement reads. "At the same time, the City has undertaken an independent investigation by an experienced former law enforcement detective who is conducting a thorough analysis of the Uvalde Police Department’s response to the Robb Elementary School shooting."