The latest Department of Public Safety news from The Texas Tribune.
DPS is asking lawmakers to approve a $467 million active-shooter facility as a “down payment” for the training academy. “You play like you practice,” Director Steve McCraw said. Full Story
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Audio obtained by The Texas Tribune and ProPublica shows just how long police and dispatchers likely knew that children and teachers were in danger before taking action at Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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At a public meeting where families that lost children in the school shooting said he should resign, McCraw said members of the Department of Public Safety made mistakes. But he said he’ll step down only “if DPS as an institution failed the families.” Full Story
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Department of Public Safety Sgt. Juan Maldonado is the first state police officer fired in the aftermath of a botched police response to the shooting. He was the highest-ranking state trooper to initially respond to Robb Elementary School. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott said the school district knew the ex-trooper “had actions inconsistent with training and department requirements.” Full Story
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A court had ruled that the state’s ban was unconstitutional. The attorney general’s office — usually a supporter of gun rights — said it will appeal but didn’t explain why. Full Story
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The state’s top law enforcement agency also told USA Today that seven officers have now been referred to its internal affairs division, including two who are command staff. Full Story
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The state’s top law enforcement agency has publicly criticized the actions of local police during the May shooting at Robb Elementary. But McCraw’s agency has also faced scrutiny for officers’ delay in confronting the gunman. Full Story
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State troopers outnumbered local law enforcement 2-to-1 outside Robb Elementary, but the Department of Public Safety has blocked the release of records and carefully shaped the narrative to cast local authorities as incompetent. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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Uvalde trustees are unsure if officers who will provide school security this year were part of the delayed response to the shooting at Robb Elementary. Full Story
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The lawsuit alleges that the state police have unlawfully withheld records, including body camera footage and emergency communications, during the Robb Elementary shooting. Full Story
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Two civil rights groups have expanded their request for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into Operation Lone Star, citing evidence of risky pursuits and more frequent traffic stops of Hispanic drivers. Full Story
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The department’s officers made up nearly one-fourth of the 376 law enforcement members who responded to Texas’ deadliest school shooting. Announcement of the inquiry came one day after a report criticized police response to the massacre. Full Story
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Residents and victims’ families say the way local and state leaders are handling details about the state’s deadliest shooting is compounding their trauma and grief. Full Story
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Texas had claimed sovereign immunity when a former state trooper filed a lawsuit accusing the state of not giving him an accommodation when he returned from military service. Full Story
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Almost half the money is going toward bullet-resistant shields for school police officers, a move that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called on fellow state leaders to support. Full Story
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State and local Uvalde officials have fought the release of records that could provide clarity on the botched emergency response to the shooting that killed 19 children and two educators. Full Story
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New information released by law enforcement sources and the director of the Department of Public Safety tells a different story about police response to the shooting than Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo. Full Story
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Steve McCraw testified before a Texas Senate committee, laying blame on local police officers in Uvalde for not acting faster to save children during the school shooting. Full Story
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