Justice Department to help reform Uvalde Police Department after school shooting 'failures'

June 26 (UPI) -- The Justice Department announced Wednesday it will provide technical assistance to the Uvalde Police Department more than two years after a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School killed 19 students and two teachers.

The Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, said it will help reform the police department to rebuild trust between Uvalde officers and the Texas community they serve after its Critical Incident Review earlier this year called the school shooting response "a failure."

"The department's review concluded that a series of major failures, failures in leadership, in tactics, in communication, in training and in preparedness were made by law enforcement and others responding to the shooting at Robb Elementary," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in January.

The city of Uvalde and its police department have faced scrutiny and investigations into its slow response, as officers waited 77 minutes at the scene before entering a classroom and killing the gunman.

An independent report by the Uvalde City Council in March found none of the officers violated policy or committed any wrongdoing. Uvalde's police chief Daniel Rodriguez, who was out of state during the shooting, announced his resignation one week after the report was released.

Last month, the city of Uvalde reached a settlement with 17 families of children killed and two families of those wounded by the gunman. The city agreed to pay $2 million, create a permanent memorial and overhaul the city's police department.

"Since releasing its report 'Critical Incident Review: Active Shooter at Robb Elementary,' the Justice Department has continued to work with the Uvalde community, offering a range of technical assistance on topics that were identified in the report," Acting Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer said Wednesday.

"Today's announcement will formalize that effort and enable the department to enhance its efforts to help both the community and the police department implement the recommendations contained in the report," Mizer added.

The COPS Office will provide Uvalde police with technical assistance to improve the department's strategic training plan, develop leadership and build community trust.

"The COPS Office remains committed to the Uvalde community and the Uvalde Police Department on the issues, challenges and deficiencies the report identified," said Hugh T. Clements Jr., director of the COPS Office.

"I know that the work we are going to do moving forward will be a tremendous resource as the UPD continues with the important work they are dedicated to carrying out."