Uvalde victim’s uncle arrested during furious speech at ex-police chief, video shows
The uncle of a boy killed in a mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, was arrested while giving an angry, profanity-laced speech toward the city’s former police chief, video shows.
Brett Cross was the uncle and legal guardian of Uziyah Garcia, the Uvalde Leader News reported, and he and his wife were raising the boy together.
Uziyah was at Robb Elementary School when an 18-year-old gunman entered on May 24, 2022, and carried out one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, killing 19 children and two teachers.
Though there were children still alive inside the classroom when police first arrived, it took 80 minutes from the time the first shot was fired for officers to confront and kill the shooter, McClatchy News previously reported. The slow response by law enforcement may have cost lives, and it sparked anger and distrust in police not only in Uvalde, but across the country.
There “were eight to nine students still in that classroom and you walk the (expletive) away,” Cross told Mariano Pargas Jr. during a Feb. 26 Uvalde County Commissioners Court meeting, video shows.
Pargas was the acting police chief for the Uvalde Police Department when the shooting happened, the Uvalde Leader News reported. He resigned six months later amid the aftermath, but despite his high-profile role in the mishandling of the shooting, he was reelected as county commissioner.
“How is it that there is a motion to approve minutes when he hasn’t been here in the past two months?” Cross said, referring to Pargas. “We are paying a man’s salary who refuses to do anything. You couldn’t show up and see the children who survived. It’s kind of funny when you do arrive, why are you surrounded by cops?”
Cross’ emotional speech turned to yelling as commissioners warned him not to use foul language, video shows.
“Language, language, language. My child is (expletive) dead!” he told the commission.
Cross was arrested and taken into custody by the Uvalde County Sheriff’s Department on a charge of disrupting a meeting or procession, KENS reported.
Cross has since been released but says the commission used his profanity as an excuse to keep him quiet, he told the station.
“Profane is burying your child, profane is picking out which cartoon character is going to be on their casket, profane is waking up every single day knowing your child isn’t here,” he told the outlet. “The F word is not.”
Uvalde police said they helped “assist” in detaining Cross, but were not responsible for his arrest, the department said in a news release.
“The Uvalde Police Department is committed to upholding the law and ensuring public safety in our community,” the release said.
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