In a recent investigation ordered by Uvalde city leaders, local police officers have been cleared of missteps in the Robb Elementary School shooting that took place in 2022. However, the investigation acknowledged a series of failures during the response to the tragic classroom attack that claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers.

The presentation of the investigation's findings sparked anger and outrage among several family members of the victims. They walked out midway through the presentation, feeling that it portrayed the Uvalde Police Department officers as acting swiftly and appropriately, in contrast to previous scathing reports from state and federal authorities that criticized the police at every level.

Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose daughter was among those killed in the attack, expressed her disappointment, stating, "You said they did it in good faith. You call that good faith? They stood there 77 minutes." Another person in the crowd screamed, "Cowards!"

Jesse Prado, an Austin-based investigator and former police detective, outlined several failures by local, state, and federal officers who responded to the scene that day. These failures included communication problems, inadequate training for live shooter situations, lack of available equipment, and delays in breaching the classroom.

Prado emphasized the communication breakdown and lack of information available to the officers, stating, "There were problems all day long with communication and lack of it. The officers had no way of knowing what was being planned, what was being said."

The investigation report is just one of several probes into the tragic incident. In 2022, Texas lawmakers found that nearly 400 officers from various law enforcement agencies arrived at the scene but waited for over an hour before confronting the gunman. A Department of Justice report published in January criticized the "cascading failures" of the responding law enforcement.

One of the most alarming revelations from the investigation was the fact that it took over an hour for law enforcement to enter the classroom and neutralize the shooter, despite desperate 911 calls from terrified children. Prado, however, commended the officers for their bravery, stating that they showed "immeasurable strength" and "level-headed thinking" while facing fire from the shooter.

Prado also highlighted the difficulties faced by officers due to the rush of panicked family members who arrived at the school that day. Their presence compromised efforts to establish a clear chain of command, as officers had to handle crowd control while parents desperately tried to enter the building or urged officers to take action.

The emotional toll on the victim's families was evident when Prado briefly left after his presentation, causing several of them to shout, "Bring him back!" Prado returned and sat quietly while the families aired their grievances, expressing their discontent with the report, the council, and the responding officers.

A criminal investigation into the law enforcement response by Uvalde District Attorney Christina Mitchell's office is ongoing. Earlier this year, a grand jury was summoned, and some law enforcement officials have already been asked to testify. The tensions between Uvalde city officials and the local prosecutor remain high, while the community continues to grapple with trauma and remains divided over issues of accountability.

The city's investigation report follows a comprehensive 600-page report published by the Department of Justice in January, which identified significant failures in the law enforcement response. Attorney General Merrick Garland, when presenting the findings to the affected families, stated that the victims "deserved better."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott initially praised the law enforcement response but later changed his tune as more information about the botched response emerged through media reports and lawmakers' findings. At least five officers who were present at the scene have lost their jobs, including the on-site commander, Pete Arredondo, the former school police chief. As of now, no officers have faced criminal charges in connection with the incident.