SAN ANTONIO — Uvalde CISD says it won its challenge to keep Pete Arredondo, the embattled former district police chief who led a failed law enforcement response at the Robb Elementary shooting, from upgrading his employment record.
Arredondo was initially able to successfully upgrade his discharge status to "honorable" in the aftermath of his firing from Uvalde CISD. He won by default because the school district did not object.
When law enforcement officials separate from their employers, that employer must designate their discharge was "honorable," "general" or "dishonorable." From that point on, the designation is visible in a state database which tracks officers' training and conduct, and potentially impacts future employment opportunities.
In February – nine months after Arredondo became the center of law enforcement criticism when a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers over the course of 77 minutes – interim Uvalde CISD Superintendent Gary Patterson told the Uvalde Leader News that district staff missed emails about Arredondo's appeal, adding they didn't know they needed to fight it. The district went on to file a motion of rehearing with the state to "uphold the original discharge," according to state records.
"The hearing judge ruled in favor of the district’s challenge, reversing the previous decision by TCOLE (the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement), changing the Honorable Discharge to the original General Discharge, and closing the case," Uvalde CISD officials told KENS 5 in a statement Tuesday.
Luis Soberon, a policy adviser with the nonpartisan think tank Texas 2036, previously told KENS 5 that an upgraded discharge status wasn't likely to help Arredondo's job prospects, given the ex-chief is known internationally for his role in law enforcement's failures during the Robb Elementary shooting.
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