Hundreds of law enforcement officers from several local, state and federal agencies have been heavily criticized for the delayed response in confronting the gunman during the worst school shooting in Texas history.
Zach Despart
Zach Despart is an enterprise and investigative reporter focusing on state government. His work on a team investigating the flawed police response to the Uvalde school shooting was awarded the 2024 Collier Prize and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting. He led the Tribune’s effort to become the first news organization to map the fragmented 50-mile Texas border wall, a project that also found the state struggled with holdout landowners along the route. After it was published, the Legislature stopped funding the wall. He previously covered Harris County for the Houston Chronicle, where he reported on corruption, elections, disaster preparedness and the region’s recovery from Hurricane Harvey. His investigation on how Texas diverted Harvey aid away from areas most at risk for storms sparked a federal investigation. An upstate New York native, he received his bachelor’s degree in political science and film from the University of Vermont.
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Uvalde school shooting
The Texas Tribune and other newsrooms sue to force Uvalde officials to release shooting records
The Tribune and other news organizations also previously filed suit against the Department of Public Safety over its refusal to release records related to the school shooting.
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Uvalde school shooting
Texas state police can keep Uvalde records secret for now, judge rules
The ruling sidestepped the question of whether the state police can withhold records concerning their response to the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School. The judge concluded that state Sen. Roland Gutierrez had not properly filed his request under Texas’ public records law.
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Uvalde school shooting
Coalition of news organizations sues Texas Department of Public Safety over withheld records on Uvalde shooting
The lawsuit alleges that the state police have unlawfully withheld records, including body camera footage and emergency communications, during the Robb Elementary shooting.
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Uvalde school shooting
“Systemic failures” in Uvalde shooting went far beyond local police, Texas House report details
In total, 376 law enforcement officers descended upon the school, according to the most extensive account of the shooting to date. It says that better-equipped departments should have stepped up to fill a leadership void after the Uvalde schools police chief failed to take charge.
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Uvalde school shooting
Uvalde police officer criticized for checking his phone was waiting to hear from his dying wife
“I couldn’t say nothing seeing this man, who’s lost everything, maligned as if he was indifferent or actively malicious,” Rep. Joe Moody, a member of the Uvalde House Investigating Committee, said on Twitter.
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Uvalde school shooting
Leaked video shows Texas law enforcement’s long wait to confront Uvalde school shooter
Elected officials and law enforcement leaders criticized the leak of the video that was supposed to first be shown to victims’ families.
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Uvalde school shooting
Uvalde schools police Chief Pete Arredondo resigns from City Council
In a letter to the city, Arredondo said he was stepping down from his elected position, citing a desire to “minimize further distractions.”
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Texas Abortion Restrictions
Texas can enforce 1925 abortion ban, state Supreme Court says
The ruling Friday night exposes abortion providers to fines and lawsuits even before the state’s trigger law goes into effect.
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Uvalde school shooting
Texas congressional Democrats call on Attorney General Ken Paxton to release Uvalde shooting records
Uvalde, state and federal officials have refused to release records related to the May 24 massacre at Robb Elementary School. Nine members of Congress said in a letter that families of victims deserve to know the full truth about what happened.
