Trial begins for Uvalde officer accused of flawed school shooting response

Opening statements were made Tuesday in the trial of a former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer accused of not doing more to save lives in the 2022 massacre that left 19 students and two teachers dead. 

Adrian Gonzales has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment following the attack at Robb Elementary. He could be sentenced to a maximum of two years in prison if he’s convicted. 

Gonzales, who was among the first to respond to the attack, arrived while the teenage assailant was still outside the building and did not make a move, even when a teacher pointed out the direction of the shooter, special prosecutor Bill Turner said Tuesday. The officer only went inside Robb Elementary minutes later “after the damage had been done,” Turner said.

“When you hear gunshots, you go to the gunfire,” Turner added, noting that Gonzales, a 10-year veteran of the police force, had extensive active shooter training.

FORMER UVALDE SCHOOL POLICE CHIEF, OFFICER INDICTED OVER RESPONSE TO ELEMENTARY MASS SHOOTING

“When a child calls 911, we have a right to expect a response,” Turner also said.

An indictment accused Gonzales of putting children in “imminent danger” of injury or death by failing to engage, distract or delay the shooter and by not following his training. The allegations also said he did not go toward the gunfire despite hearing shots and being told the shooter’s location. 

Terrified students inside the classrooms called 911 and parents outside begged for intervention by officers, some of whom could hear shots being fired while they stood in a hallway, according to The Associated Press. An investigation ultimately found that 77 minutes passed from the time authorities arrived until the tactical team breached a classroom and killed the shooter, identified as Salvador Ramos. 

Gonzales’ attorneys disputed accusations that he did nothing at what they called a chaotic scene, saying that he helped evacuate children as other police arrived.

“The government makes it want to seem like he just sat there,” said defense attorney Nico LaHood. “He did what he could, with what he knew at the time.”

FORMER UVALDE SCHOOL POLICE CHIEF, OFFICER INDICTED OVER RESPONSE TO ELEMENTARY MASS SHOOTING

Defense attorneys described an officer who tried to assess where the gunman was while thinking he was being fired on without protection against a high-powered rifle.

Gonzales was among the first group to go into the building before they took fire from Ramos, the officer’s attorneys said.

“This isn’t a man waiting around. This isn’t a man failing to act,” defense attorney Jason Goss added.

Gonzales and former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo are the only two officers to face criminal charges over the response. Arredondo’s trial has not been scheduled. 

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At the request of Gonzales’ attorneys, the trial was moved to Corpus Christi after they argued Gonzales could not receive a fair trial in Uvalde. 

The trial is expected to last about two weeks, Judge Sid Harle said. Before seating the jury Monday, he told several hundred potential jurors that the court was not looking for those who know nothing about the shooting but wants jurors who can be impartial. 

Among the potential witnesses are FBI agents, Texas Rangers, emergency dispatchers and school employees. Families of students killed in the massacre are also among those who could testify.

Twelve jurors have been selected for the case, along with four alternates, FOX7 Austin reported.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.