Brett Cross stressed he’s not convinced every body worn camera was released by Uvalde County. Incident reports indicated some deputies had technical issues.
UVALDE, Texas — Uvalde County released several hours’ worth of body camera video on Tuesday, part of a massive package of released documents providing additional insight into law enforcement’s delayed response to the Robb Elementary School shooting.
This comes just a day after Uvalde CISD released its share of documents, which included the deteriorating background of the shooter who stormed the elementary school on May 24, 2022, killing 19 children and two teachers.
It took law enforcement more than an hour to ultimately move in and take down the assailant.
A media-initiated lawsuit going back to 2022 challenged the City of Uvalde, Uvalde County, Uvalde CISD and the Texas Department of Public Safety to release records related to the Robb Elementary response.
Three years after the tragedy, victims’ family members continue to demand justice and transparency.
Brett Cross, whose son Uziyah Garcia was among the victims, criticized the releases as insufficient and questioned whether more video footage exists beyond what’s been made public. He emphasized he believes more sheriff’s deputies responded to the shooting than were represented in the body camera footage.
“Why were they not released? Did they not have body camera on? Then some of these that were released, they covered up their body cam so you can’t even see what’s going on,” Cross said.
Cross noted he plans to spend days digging through the material to gain a thorough understanding of what’s been released.
“It’s one of those things where it’s likely they release the bare minimum to say that they did something,” Cross said, echoing long-held concerns about withheld information. “It’s imperative that things are released and this is just one step.”
Jesse Rizo, uncle of victim Jackie Cazares – believes the released student records – particularly the gunman’s school files, could help prevent future tragedies by revealing warning signs earlier. Rizo was among the Uvalde CISD board members who unanimously voted in favor of releasing the documents.
Student records revealed the teenaged gunman’s decline in the shooter’s academic performance and behavior.
“When you see just an ordinary kid going through the process, going through the motions, and he’s going to school then you start seeing him kind of spiral out of control,” Rizo said. “I hope that by this information getting released that other schools and other parents can see that, and they can say that maybe my child is on this path and I need to intervene here.”
The data dumps also included thousands of emails, texts, reports and correspondence, a significant trove that detailed incident reports, communications and personnel files.
Law enforcement body camera video from the perspective of Uvalde County sheriff’s deputies captures the confusion and chaos in and outside Robb Elementary.
School district communications reveal that officials were aware of broken locks, had conducted active-shooter training, coordinated scattered logistical operations post-shooting, and began planning survivor support, even as public criticism mounted.
Despite the wealth of material released, it contains no new video evidence clarifying why law enforcement waited more than 70 minutes to engage the gunman, criticism that has fueled public outrage and federal scrutiny.
Charges of child endangerment have been brought against then-Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo and officer Adrian Gonzales, both of whom have pleaded not guilty. A trial is slated in October while change of venue requests remains in limbo.
Meanwhile, legal battles continues, targeting the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), which has resisted full disclosure of its records.
A DPS spokesman said, “The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) was not a party to the litigation involving records held by the Uvalde CISD. The litigation involving department records remains pending before the 15th Court of Appeals in Texas. The department has followed its standard protocol in which it does not release records that will impact pending prosecutions.”