Uvalde families call for resignation of top Texas police official

On Thursday, the families of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting victims called for the resignation of Col. Steven McCraw, who heads the Texas Department of Public Safety.

During the first public hearing update since mid-July, parents and loved ones who lost their children during the massacre at Rob Elementary School accused McCraw of creating more pain and hurt in Uvalde.  

Brett Cross, the guardian of 10-year-old Robb Elementary School victim Uziyah Garcia, said police waited outside as the children were “slaughtered.”

Cross called for McCraw’s immiediate resignation, saying he “disgraced the state.”

“If you’re a man of your word, you’ll resign,” Cross said, according to GMA.

The pressure only increased on McCraw amid growing scrutiny over the actions of state police officers during the shooting – in which 19 children and two teachers were killed.

At least seven Department of Public Safety officers have been under investigation by its inspector general. One officer, Sgt. Juan Maldonado, was served with termination papers last week. Another, Ranger Chris Kindell, has been suspended, a department spokesperson said. 

Parents and loved ones aren’t the only one calling for McCraw’s resignation. Democratic Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, who addressed law enforcement at the start of the hearing, also called for McCraw’s resignation.

Gutierrez said at the hearing, “These children waited 77 minutes” for help. “Children trapped in a classroom had the courage to seek help by calling 911 over and over again. Law enforcement knew there were kids inside.”

McCraw has since acknowledged that other officers also played a role in the botched response, including some of those within his own agency.

He went on to say that the Texas Rangers, a division of his agency that has been leading the state’s investigation into the shooting, would be finishing its work before thee end of the year and sending the results to the local district attorney. He suggested that officers could face charges for their role in the case, depending on what the investigation showed.