Texas Tribune
Former Uvalde school officers indicted over school shooting
by By Pooja Salhotra, The Texas Tribune – 2024-06-27 17:25:38
SUMMARY: A Uvalde County grand jury indicted former school district police Chief Pete Arredondo and officer Adrian Gonzales on child endangerment charges related to the delayed response to the May 24, 2022, school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers. This marks the first criminal charges against law enforcement for the incident. The grand jury was convened in January to investigate nearly 400 officers involved. Past reports criticized law enforcement's 77-minute delay to confront the shooter. Families of victims continue to seek accountability and transparency through ongoing investigations and civil lawsuits.
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A Uvalde County grand jury has indicted former school district police Chief Pete Arredondo and another former district officer on charges of child endangerment, the first criminal charges brought against law enforcement for the botched response to the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, the San Antonio Express-News first reported.
Arredondo and Adrian Gonzales face felony charges of abandoning or endangering a child, the newspaper reported.
The charges come more than two years after the May 24, 2022 shooting, in which a lone gunman killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers.
Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell convened a grand jury in January to investigate law enforcement's delayed response and to determine whether to bring criminal charges against any of the nearly 400 federal, state and local officers involved in the response. Law enforcement officers waited 77 minutes to confront the gunman, who was ultimately shot and killed by Border Patrol officers.
The botched law enforcement response has been widely criticized, including in a January U.S. Justice Department report. That report documented failures in leadership, and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland noted that lives could have been saved had law enforcement acted sooner.
In the months following the shooting, about a dozen officers were fired, suspended or retired. Arredondo was fired about three months after the shooting. He was listed as incident commander on the school district's active shooter response plan.
On Thursday, the district attorney briefed some families of victims about the indictment, said Jesse Rizo, whose niece Jacklyn Cazares was among the children killed in the shooting. Rizo said he was hopeful that the indicted officers would be prosecuted.
“I'm really hoping this is just the beginning of indictments that may be coming down,” Rizo said. “There are a lot of officers that need to be held accountable.”
Lalo Castillo, a local activist who said he learned of the indictments about an hour after they occurred, said he had expected state officials to face criminal charges, too.
“Especially the state troopers because they were the first ones there,” Castillo said, referring to officers from the Texas Department of Public Safety
The DA's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Efforts to reach Arredondo and Gonzales were unsuccessful.
It is not clear whether any other officers will face criminal charges. Grand jury proceedings in Texas are secret, so witness testimony is not open to the public. Twelve grand jurors have been hearing evidence presented by the district attorney's office.
DPS Director Steve McCraw is among those who have testified before the grand jury. McCraw previously blamed local officers for the bungled response. In 2022, he testified before the Texas Senate and said it wasn't feasible for his officers to assume command, even though Arredondo was not acting quickly. In total, 91 of the responding officers were from DPS.
Police officers have legal protections that make it difficult to successfully bring criminal charges against them. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that officers don't have a constitutional “duty to protect,” even if they are trained to do so. Legal experts have said prosecutors may have a difficult burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that officers were under a legal duty to act and in failing to do so, caused harm.
The grand jury investigation is one of at least six official probes launched after the shooting. Those investigations have largely left family members of the victims frustrated. They, along with community activists, have continued to push for increased transparency and accountability.
Most recently, the city of Uvalde released an independent review that cleared all local officers of wrongdoing, frustrating parents of the children killed in the massacre and at least some local government officials.
Private investigator Jesse Prado, who conducted that review, identified lapses in leadership but also commended some officers and said they acted in “good faith.” Prado also blamed the district attorney for not cooperating with his investigation. Mitchell is in possession of a state police report but has yet to make that report public.
Days after Prado's review became public, Uvalde Police Chief Daniel Rodriguez, who was on vacation when the school shooting occurred, announced his resignation. On the day of the shooting, Rodriguez spoke with acting chief Lt. Mariano Pargas and asked him to set up a command post, according to the city-commissioned review. Pargas did not set up a post. He stepped down from the Uvalde Police Department in November 2022.
Rizo, whose niece died in the shooting, said he is hopeful that Pargas also faces criminal charges.
“He's just as guilty as Arredondo,” Rizo said.
In the absence of concrete action by elected officials, some families have filed civil lawsuits. Relatives of 17 of the children killed and two who were injured sued DPS in May, the day before the second anniversary of the shooting. The families also reached a $2 million settlement with the city of Uvalde, and the city committed to providing enhanced training for current and future law enforcement officers.
Relatives also filed a separate lawsuit against Daniel Defense, the company that manufactured the shooter's gun, as well as California-based companies Meta and Activision.
Just in: Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming; U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania; and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt will take the stage at The Texas Tribune Festival, Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Buy tickets today!
The post Former Uvalde school officers indicted over school shooting appeared first on TexasTribune.org.
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Texas Tribune
Texas to double state fund aimed at expanding power grid
by By Kayla Guo, The Texas Tribune – 2024-07-01 17:05:54
SUMMARY: The state of Texas plans to double the Texas Energy Fund from $5 billion to $10 billion to expand the power grid as electricity demand is expected to nearly double by 2030. This follows a forecast by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which estimated the state's main grid would need to supply nearly twice its current power. The fund, approved by voters in November 2023, offers low-interest loans for new gas-fueled power plants. The state's grid has faced scrutiny since a 2021 winter storm caused extensive outages. Companies must apply for loans by July 27.
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The state of Texas plans to double a state fund aimed at expanding the power grid as demand for electricity is expected to nearly double over the next six years.
The state will look to boost the Texas Energy Fund from $5 billion to $10 billion, Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced on Monday. The fund was approved by voters in November 2023 to offer low-interest loans to incentivize development of new gas-fueled power plants.
The announcement comes soon after a new prediction by the state's main grid operator that said electricity needs will surge in the coming years. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas estimated that the state's main power grid would have to provide nearly double the amount of power it currently supplies by 2030.
The numbers in the new forecast, Abbott and Patrick said in a press release, “call for an immediate review of all policies concerning the grid.”
The state's grid came under intense public and legislative scrutiny after a winter storm in 2021 knocked out its operations, causing dayslong power outages across the state in freezing temperatures that left millions of Texans without lights or heat. Hundreds died.
The Texas Energy Fund set aside $5 billion to fund 3% interest loans to help construct new gas-fueled power plants that are not dependent on the weather and that could power 20,000 homes or more.
The fund was also designed to pay out bonuses to companies that connect new gas-fueled plants to the main grid by June 2029, and to offer grants for modernizing, weatherizing and managing vegetation growth around electricity infrastructure in Texas outside the main electricity market, which meets around 90% of the state's power needs.
The state received notices of intent to apply for $39 billion in loans — almost eight times more than what was initially set aside, Abbott and Patrick said. They added that the average plant will take three to four years to complete, and new transmission lines will take three to six years to complete.
Companies have until July 27 to apply for a loan.
Just in: Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming; U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania; and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt will take the stage at The Texas Tribune Festival, Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Buy tickets today!
The post Texas to double state fund aimed at expanding power grid appeared first on TexasTribune.org.
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Texas Tribune
Commanding officer confirms Troy Nehls has two Bronze Stars
by By Isaac Yu, The Texas Tribune – 2024-07-01 13:02:57
SUMMARY: The Texas Tribune reports that the military record of Rep. Troy Nehls has come under scrutiny. A CBS investigation revealed discrepancies in Nehls' service decorations, including claims of a second Bronze Star and a Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB), which the Pentagon has not corroborated. Nehls' former commanding officer, Jason Burke, affirmed awarding him a second Bronze Star in 2008. Despite the Pentagon's records indicating only one Bronze Star and no CIB, Nehls insists on social media that he earned both awards. Nehls, facing criticism, has stopped wearing the CIB, which was revoked in 2023 due to service in a non-combat role.
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WASHINGTON — The commanding officer of a 2008 tour in Afghanistan that included then-U.S. Army Major Troy Nehls told The Texas Tribune that he recalls awarding the now-congressman his second Bronze Star award.
That award — which recognizes service members who show heroism in the field — has been called into question after a CBS investigation reported Nehls had been touting military decorations that did not match his service record provided by the Pentagon. In campaign ads and in his House biography, Nehls, R-Richmond, has posted pictures wearing an Army uniform and two Bronze Star medals. He has also worn the Combat Infantryman Badge lapel pin, awarded to soldiers for service in combat.
The investigation found that the Pentagon reported Nehls received only one Bronze star and that the Combat Infantryman Badge was awarded in error and rescinded in 2023. Nehls, who has been publicly criticized by members of his own party amid the claims of stolen valor, said on social media that he did have two Bronze Stars. But he has since stopped wearing the CIB.
But Jason Burke, the Navy captain who led the 130-person joint task force Nehls served on during his tour, recalled awarding the medal to Nehls. Nehls received the medal at a ceremony with several other officers in the fall of 2008, shortly before Nehls finished his tour and returned to Texas, Burke told the Tribune.
“You're getting that award if you've done a good job and met the criteria,” said the now-retired Burke, who is listed on the award certificate as Nehls' commanding officer. “He earned it, and received it.”
Nehls, who represents a swath of Houston suburbs, served as Burke's second-in-command under a joint effort called Task Force Currahee. Their unit, which included both Army and Navy officers, worked on provincial reconstruction, building roads, clinics and schools in eastern Afghanistan's Ghazni Province. Burke said the team's convoys regularly came under Taliban ambushes and guerrilla attacks.
The Bronze Star award must be recommended by a commander, and any service member in any branch of the military working an operation involving a conflict with an opposing force is eligible. The CIB, by contrast, is only given to those in combat roles.
It was relatively standard during the U.S.'s war on terrorism, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, for officers of certain ranks to receive a some kind of award upon completing a tour, often a Bronze Star. Nehls' first star was awarded for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004, where he trained 13 staff members of an Iraqi government office to perform financial assessments, according to the certificate.
A spokesperson for Nehls declined to comment on this story, pointing to a post on X Nehls made last month defending his record and posting photos of the certificates of his two Bronze Stars, and his copy of the underlying nomination forms. Burke's sign-off can be seen on the 2008 documentation, known as a Form 638, along with signatures from two higher-level officials.
CBS reported the Pentagon would conduct another review of Nehls' record. The most recent summary of his service and awards, provided to the Tribune by a Pentagon spokesperson on Friday, lists only one Bronze Star and no CIB.
The systems for keeping records for military awards can be difficult to navigate. A soldier often becomes responsible for making sure awards paperwork is turned over to a personnel officer.
That means documentation for awards sometimes slips through the cracks, according to retired Army sergeant Anthony Anderson, who has investigated numerous instances of stolen valor.
“I wouldn't say it's common, but it does happen,” Anderson said.
Anderson said he had previously spoken with Nehls' chief of staff, encouraging them to submit documentation of the second Bronze Star to the Pentagon to be added to Nehls record.
He said he would be surprised if an officer in Nehls' position hadn't received a Bronze Star.
Nehls' military record has become a thorn for him in recent months. He announced that he would stop wearing the Combat Infantryman Badge last week in response to reports that the badge had been revoked in 2023.
Nehls was found to be ineligible for that badge because he had served in Afghanistan in a civil role, not as a combatant infantryman. Nehls did serve as an infantryman during his time with the Wisconsin National Guard in the 1990s, completing a tour in Bosnia.
Just in: Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming; U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania; and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt will take the stage at The Texas Tribune Festival, Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Buy tickets today!
The post Commanding officer confirms Troy Nehls has two Bronze Stars appeared first on TexasTribune.org.
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Texas Tribune
Robert Robertson execution day set in Texas shaken baby case
by By Kayla Guo, The Texas Tribune – 2024-07-01 11:33:10
SUMMARY: A Texas court has scheduled Robert Roberson's execution for October 17. Roberson, sentenced to death in 2003 for his 2-year-old daughter's death, has consistently challenged the conviction, claiming it was based on questionable science. Despite halting his execution in 2016 due to doubts about shaken baby syndrome, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld his death sentence in 2023. Roberson's attorneys argue new evidence shows his daughter died of natural causes, not head trauma, and question the shaken baby syndrome diagnosis. The execution date triggers deadlines for last-minute legal and clemency filings.
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A Texas court on Monday set an execution date for Robert Roberson, who was sentenced to death in 2003 for killing his 2-year-old daughter but has consistently challenged the conviction on the claim that it was based on questionable science.
Roberson has maintained his innocence while being held on death row for more than 20 years. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals previously halted his execution in 2016. But in 2023, the state's highest criminal court decided that doubt over the cause of his daughter's death was not enough to overturn his death sentence.
His new execution date is set for Oct. 17.
Roberson's attorneys objected to the scheduling of an execution after Anderson County prosecutors requested on June 17 that a date be set. His attorneys said they have new evidence to bolster their case and that they planned to file a new request to overturn his conviction.
As a result, his attorneys argued, setting an execution date would be “premature and unjust.”
Roberson was convicted of killing his sickly 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, after he rushed her blue, limp body to the hospital. He said that Nikki fell from the bed while they were sleeping in their home in the East Texas town of Palestine and that he awoke to find her unresponsive. But doctors and nurses, who were unable to revive her, did not believe such a low fall could have caused the fatal injuries and suspected child abuse.
At trial, doctors testified that Nikki's death was consistent with shaken baby syndrome — in which an infant is severely injured from being shaken violently back and forth — and a jury convicted Roberson.
The Court of Criminal Appeals in 2016 stopped his execution and sent the case back to the trial court after the scientific consensus around shaken baby syndrome diagnoses came into question. Many doctors believe the condition is used as an explanation for an infant's death too often in criminal cases, without considering other possibilities and the baby's medical history.
The Court of Criminal Appeals' decision was largely a product of a 2013 state law, dubbed the “junk science law,” which allows Texas courts to overturn a conviction when the scientific evidence used to reach a verdict has since changed or been discredited. Lawmakers, in passing the law, highlighted cases of infant trauma that used faulty science to convict defendants as examples of the cases the legislation was meant to target.
Roberson's attorneys, in their opposition to setting an execution date, cited “overwhelming new evidence” that Nikki died of “natural and accidental causes” — not due to head trauma.
They wrote that Nikki had “severe, undiagnosed” pneumonia that caused her to stop breathing, collapse and turn blue before she was discovered. Then, instead of identifying her pneumonia, doctors prescribed her Phenergan and codeine, drugs that are no longer given to children her age, further suppressing her breathing, they argued.
“It is irrefutable that Nikki's medical records show that she was severely ill during the last week of her life,” Roberson's attorneys wrote, noting that in the week before her death, Roberson had taken Nikki to the emergency room because she had been coughing, wheezing and struggling with diarrhea for several days, and to her pediatrician's office, where her temperature came in at 104.5 degrees.
“There was a tragic, untimely death of a sick child whose impaired, impoverished father did not know how to explain what has confounded the medical community for decades,” Roberson's attorneys wrote.
They have also argued that new scientific evidence suggests that it is impossible to shake a toddler to death without causing serious neck injuries, which Nikki did not have.
And they cited developments in a similar case in Dallas County, in which a man was convicted of injuring a child. His conviction was based in part on now partially recanted testimony from a child abuse expert who provided similar testimony on shaken baby syndrome in Roberson's case. Prosecutors in Dallas County have said the defendant should get a new trial.
In 2023, when the Court of Criminal Appeals denied Roberson a new trial, prosecutors argued that the evidence supporting Roberson's conviction was still “clear and convincing” and that the science around shaken baby syndrome had not changed as much as his defense attorneys claimed. Witnesses also testified at trial that Roberson had a bad temper and would shake and spank Nikki when she would not stop crying.
The scheduling of Roberson's execution triggers a series of deadlines for any last filings in state and federal court to seek relief and begin a request for clemency.
Just in: Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming; U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvania; and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt will take the stage at The Texas Tribune Festival, Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Buy tickets today!
The post Robert Robertson execution day set in Texas shaken baby case appeared first on TexasTribune.org.
The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
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