Ted Cruz calls law enforcement response to Uvalde shooting 'deeply disturbing'

U.S. Sen. Ted. Cruz, R-Texas, said the video of the failed law enforcement response to the Uvalde shooting, published Tuesday by the American-Statesman and KVUE, was "deeply concerning" and that people need answers to understand "what the hell went wrong."

"We must have accountability and transparency to understand how these failures could have happened — and to ensure they never happen again," Cruz said. "The families of those we lost, and the community of Uvalde deserve answers and they deserve accountability."

Other Texas political leaders directed their concern not at the troubling law enforcement response that the video lays bare, but at the decision to publish the video.

The 82-minute video — which had never before been seen by the public — shows the gunman entering the school and then firing toward a classroom, followed by more than three minutes of long bursts of gunfire, and then police arriving but not confronting the gunman for more than an hour. The video was edited by the news organizations to muffle the sounds of children’s screams and blur out a student in the hallway who was not hurt.

Nineteen children and two teachers were killed in the massacre.

Gov. Greg Abbott had called for release of the video, from the investigative file into the shooting, on Monday in two television interviews. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin had called for its release on Friday, saying it would bring clarity. He has repeated his view at a City Council meeting Tuesday night that the Texas Department of Public Safety was engaged in a "coverup" by minimizing its role in the shooting response.

Statesman newsroom leaders decided to publish the video as a public service amid shifting narratives from state leaders about how officers responded and after multiple requests for public information related to the May 24 shooting had been denied. A Texas House committee investigating the shooting intends to show to families Sunday, and then publicly release an edited version of the video, which will not include the gunman entering the school or the sound of gunfire in the classroom, Uvalde City Council members said Tuesday night. The Statesman and KVUE did not cut those portions of the video.

That committee has been the target of criticism from Uvalde residents for interviewing dozens of witnesses behind closed doors.

Renae Eze, Abbott’s spokesperson, said in a statement to the Statesman that Abbott was “disheartened and disappointed” that this video was "leaked" before the victims’ families and the Uvalde community had viewed it first.

“The governor has been clear since day one that he expects all information surrounding the tragedy at Robb School Elementary to be released, and we do appreciate that the Uvalde community is getting answers,” Eze said.

She said investigations by the Texas Rangers and the FBI are ongoing, and Abbott looks forward to the full results being shared with the victims' families and the public, “who deserve the full truth of what happened that tragic day.”

Abbott's Democratic rival Beto O'Rourke criticized the governor's leadership. Speaking a day after the attack, Abbott praised law enforcement for rushing to stop the shooter. The governor later said he had been misled. Abbott's notes taken during a law enforcement briefing before his comments suggesting law enforcement bravery do not reflect that he was told officers acted without delay to stop the shooter. Others present also said that was not a part of the briefing, though those who spoke to the governor never mentioned the delay at all.

"Abbott told the families, the community of Uvalde, and the entire state of Texas that it could have been worse,” O’Rourke’s communications director, Chris Evans, said in a statement. “As we continue to witness, it was a lot worse."

At a Uvalde City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, the Uvalde mayor called the decision to release the video "chickenshit." Multiple Uvalde residents at the meeting, however, supported the video's release, and one called the actions of the police "chickenshit.”

Steve McCraw, Texas Department of Public Safety director, said he was “deeply disappointed” the video was released before the Uvalde communities and families of the victims could view it.

“Those most affected should have been among the first to see it,” McCraw said in a statement. “As I stated during my testimony before the Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans, this video provides horrifying evidence that the law enforcement response to the attack at Robb Elementary on May 24 was an abject failure. In law enforcement, when one officer fails, we all fail.”

DPS, Abbott's office, the Uvalde Police Department and other agencies have rejected requests from the Statesman and other media organizations for records — appealing to the attorney general's office for a ruling on disclosure — including 911 call logs and officer communications, even as elected leaders and Uvalde residents have pleaded to understand how the law enforcement response unfolded, who was in charge and why officers waited to long to act.

State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat who represents Uvalde, said officials had told families to prepare themselves to view the footage on Sunday, and it was “appalling” that someone had leaked it. He said Abbott and the DPS were letting Uvalde families down.

“We will not let up the pressure to expose the full truth or what happened and hold those responsible for the failed law enforcement response accountable,” Gutierrez wrote on Twitter.

Gutierrez has sued the Texas Department of Public Safety over documents related to the shooting. DPS did not provide the documents, or seek an attorney general's opinion about withholding the records, within 10 business days as required under state law, the lawsuit alleges.

“I am also disappointed the victim’s families and the Uvalde community’s requests to watch the video first, and not have certain images and audio of the violence, were not achieved,” state Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock and chairman of the House committee investigating the shooting, wrote on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas politicians respond to video of Uvalde shooting police response