Yesterday, eager media outlets amplified a new “report” by a Texas agency called ALERRT on the LEO response (or lack thereof) to the Uvalde shootings. Most all seized on a few assessments regarding the news that a UPD officer had a slim chance at shooting the killer with his rifle at a great distance before he entered the school, but turned to ask his supervisor if he could “take the shot” and missed his chance.
Here is the Texas Tribune’s report. Most orgs and outlets echo it with less context, and no link to the actual report. Read it if you want to see the latest timeline minus what they are still clearly hiding.
But please, people, don’t be so eager to not look a gift horse in the mouth. Always consider the messenger, not just the message. People are right to thirst for info on Uvalde but this ain’t the straight dope.
If you actually read the report itself, and the introduction, you will see that ALERRT (a cop training facility that runs active shooter drills for hire) was “requested to generate a report” by DPS, and ALERRT received a ONE HOUR PRESENTATION by THEY WON’T SAY WHO and used this and only this as the basis for their report. They viewed NO VIDEO and heard NO AUDIO whatsoever. They were merely TOLD by “an investigator” (whose agency and identity are unnamed) what (DPS, surely but they don’t even say!!!) that one person decided to tell ALERRT was on the recordings. The lack of full transparency here is astounding. It’s like someone dictating the Book of Mormon out the inside of a hat they alone get to hold. Believe it if you want to. But don’t expect me to be so gullible.
Once again the news cycle is controlled by the cops investigating the cops. And once again each new telling seems worse, but you have to also see that the only true consistent pattern is that that a state agency run by a FULL MAGA operative of the governor Greg Abbott are most likely still hiding the worst aspects of the Uvalde LEO response to the mass shooter event. They haven’t broken this pattern yet. Each time it is worse and the previous omissions and lies are ignored, but obvious.
This is FAILED STATE level of copaganda. And yet journalists publish it as though it were their sole job to carry water for whichever government agency has some spin to share.
More random thoughts and interesting small developments beyond the fold, but this is where we stand on Uvalde: bad things happened, and they won’t let us see the video yet, not now nor likely ever. The overall picture is that cops cannot and did not and will not stop a determined mass shooter in the USA, and the GOP would like you to be distracted by “doors” and “mental health,” and the blame game, so long as cops get more money and the GOP keeps the donations from the NRA flowing.
Your gun is safe, your kids, not so much.
Get real. This agency ALERRT, gets paid to train cops and issued a report that says cops need more training. That’s basically it in a nutshell IMO. What’s so sad about this to me is that it is clearly a means that the DPS, Greg Abbott’s private paid political armed wing of the Texas GOP has once again managed to control all the evidence and put out its own spin while not facing the pressure for full disclosure that is so vital to a free society and getting the real truth to be known.
Additionally, the local Sheriff seems to be refusing to be interviewed by the State House committee investigating the shooting. I dont know what all this is about, but its happening apparently. The House committee is NOT the one run by the DPS, essentially but it is a GOP run committee. So far almost all of their moves have been in executive session and thru holding many closed door interviews, they have kept silent thus far, unlike the Texas HOUSE committee, which let DPS head McCraw put on a “fog and phony show” that was an embarrassment to the idea of unbiased investigations. McCraw managed to paint a narrative where all failures were the result of one low level school officer named Arrendando, who yes, may have nominalally been in charge of something but focusing on his failures massively distracted the press and the public from the fact that over 60+ LEOs were there, too and failed to do what was needed in a timely fashion. All were equally guilty, all ignored the training to advance and engage the active shooter ASAP.
FWIW the ALERRT report does seem to shift the official view towards “everyone failed” a bit, but in the heat of the moment with all eyes on Uvalde, the presentation by McCraw greatly distracted the scrutiny from the GOP / NRA / Abbott and the many institutional and systemic failures and problems with law enforcement in general.
“Why have cops at all if they can’t seem to do anything but murder the unarmed black guy and let the brown children bleed out?” And “It’s the guns, stupid.” Those, crudely spoken, are the real conversations we need to be having as a civil society in a democracy. Tough luck there, folks. Let’s all talk about hardening ladders post parade massacre in Highland Park, Chicago.
If you've read my previous diaries or comments, I have a pet theory that what they are so eager to protect is that LEOs really committed some heinously stupid and tragic errors here BESIDES the one where they waited around, idly dithering contrary to all training while kids and teachers bled out. A CBS news crew was told by a child witness/survivor that LEOs called out “does anyone in there need help?” and when another student answered them, the killer crossed the classroom/s and shot the child. No LEO or agency spokesmodel has yet addressed this chilling event, and what’s more NOW WE KNOW THE AUDIO RECORDING MUST EXIST of the call and the resulting gunshot/s, and that it was a long time until they acted to breech the room, still.
But you can be sure of one thing, and that is that the LEOs have more to hide and whatever it is they are working hard to keep it hidden. Otherwise we would all see the video and hear the audio. There is no legitimate reason to keep it sealed using the “dead killer” loophole and the bulls**t excuse of an ongoing investigation. They just demonstrated that they will release whatever information they want to whenever they want to. Just not all of it. Just not the whole truth.