Uvalde school district in US state of Texas suspends entire police force

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Uvalde school district in the US state of Texas suspended its entire police force on Friday "for a period of time" after law enforcement came under repeated criticism for its response to a devastating mass shooting that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

"The District remains committed to resolving issues with verifiable evidence. Decisions concerning the UCISD police department have been pending the results of the Texas Police Chiefs Association and JPPI investigation. Recent developments have uncovered additional concerns with department operations," the district said in a statement.

It was referring to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, and the JPPI private investigative firm.

"The District will continue to engage with the Texas Police Chiefs Association who is conducting a Management and Organizational Review. The results of this review will guide the rebuilding of the department and the hiring of a new Chief of Police," the district said, noting that it expects to have a report available later this month.

Lt. Miguel Hernandez and student services director Ken Mueller have been placed on administration leave with Mueller choosing to retire, the district said.

While the shooting itself was a strikingly grim episode in the US gun violence epidemic, outrage was further stirred when it was revealed that police waited for over one hour to engage with the shooter.

Brett Cross, whose 10 year-old son Uziyah Garcia was killed during the May 24 shooting, had been protesting outside of the Uvalde school administration building for over 10 days. He hailed the decision, saying on Twitter, "We did it! And we are going home!"