Transcripts For CSPAN Attorney 20240705 : vimarsana.com

You think this is just a Community Center . No. Its way more than that. Comcast is partnering to create wifi enabled so students can get the tools they need to be ready for anything. Comcast supports span as a Public Service along with the other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. And now, Merrick Garland on a new Justice Department report critical of Law Enforcement response to the 2022 Mass School Shooting in uvalde, texas. This is about 40 minutes. Good morning. Last night sorry. Good morning. Last night i met with the victims and loved ones of the horrific shooting at rob elementary school. I came here to tell them the United States department of justice has finished its Critical Incident review. In undertaking this review at the request of the then mayor, the Justice Department committed to using our expertise and independence to assess the Law Enforcement response to the shooting and to provide guidance moving forward. As i told families and night, ts failures in leadership and tactics and communications, in training and in presentedness were made by Law Enforcement and others responding to the mass shooting at rob elementary. As a result, 33 students and three of their many of whom had been shot, were trapped in a room with an active shooter for over an hour as Law Enforcement officials remained outside. I also told the families and survivors how deeply sorry i amd that day and for the losses they have suffered every day since. I told them the priority is to honor those taken from them. And i told the families that from the hundreds of thousands of details in this their loved ones deserved better. The Law Enforcement response and in the hours and days after was a failure that should not have happened. We hope to honor the victims and survivors to and im going to turn to the key observations and recommendations of the report. On may 24, 11 33 a. M. , an active shooter equipped with ar15 rifle began shooting into classrooms 111 and 112 which shared a connecting door. Within minutes, 11 Law Enforcement officers from the Uvalde Police department arrived inside the school. Hearing continued gun fire, five officers immediately advanced to classrooms 1111 and 112 and shots were fired from inside the classroom, shrapnel hit two officers. A signalade to approach. They were still waiting at 11 56 a. M. When an officer told Law Enforcement officers that his wife, a teacher was inside room 111 and 112 and had been shot and still waiting as broadcasts went outn officer radios that students in room 111 called saying that in the student was in a room full of victims. That student stayed on the phone with 9 11the victims were stillg to be rescued when the subject fired for more shots inside the classrooms at 12 21 p. M. , 49 minutes after officers arrived on the scene. And they were still waiting for another 27 minutes after that until finally officers entered the classroomsubject. As the victims were trapped and waiting for help, many of their families were waiting outside the school, growing increasingly concerned about lie Law Enforcement had not taken action to rescue their loved ones. Law enforcement officers from different agencies who had self deployed to the scene in overwhelming themselves waiting for leadership decisions about how to proceed. Many officers reported that they did notif anyone, was in charge, what they should do, or the status of the incident. Meonfused about why there was no attempt to confront the active shooter and rescue the children. Some officers believe the subject had already been or that Law Enforcement was in the room with the shooter. 75 minutes after the first officers arrived on scene, officers finally entered room 111. The subject engaged the entry team with gunfire and the officers responded with fire. 77 minutes after the first officers arrived on the scene and after 45 rounds had been fired by the active shooter, the shooter was killed. The massacre at robb elementary shattered families throughout the community and devastated our country. 19 children and two teachers were killed. A nun told number of studentsnr, teachers, and Law Enforcement officers were injured. Theb elementary was a failure. As a threat posed to our country by Mass Shootings has grown and evolved over the past sever decades, Law Enforcement response tactics have also changed. The massacre at Columbine High School 25 years ago and the 47 minutes it took for Law Enforcement to enter that high school marked a major shift in how lawenforcement leaders think about responding to Mass Shootings. Its now widely undood by Law Enforcement agencies across the country that an active shooter incident, time is not on the side of Law Enforcement. Every second counts. The priority of Law Enforcement must be to immediately enter the room and stop the shooter with whatever weapons and tools officers have with them. thats the approach responding officers first employed when they arrived at robb elementary school. But within minutes of arriving inside the school, oicials on scene transition from treating the scene as an active shooter situation to treating the shooter as a barricaded subject. This was the most significant failure. That failure meant that Law Enforcement officials prioritized a protracted evacuation of students and teachers in other classrooms inead of immediately rescuing the victims trapped with the active shooter. It meant that officials spent trying time trying to negotiate instead of entering the room and confronting him. It meant that officials asked for and waited for additional responders and instead of following executive excepted practice in moving towards the shooter with threso. It meant waiting for keys to open the classroom door, which the report concludesy unlocked anyway. And it meant that the victims remained trapped with the shooter for more than an hour after the first officers arrived on scene. There were also failures in leadership c coronation. None of the lawenforcement leaders at the scene establish an incident command structure to provide timely direction, control, and coronation among the enormous number of responders who arrived on scene. This lack of a command structure difficulties contributed to confusion among responders about who was inhow they could help. These failures may also have been influenced by policy and training at responding Law Enforcement agencies. Some lacked any active Shooter Training at all. Some had inappropriate training. Some lacked Critical Incident response training. The vast majority had never trained together with different agencies. As the associate attorney general will discuss, the chaos and confuse meant confusion also defined the aftermath of the shooting. Victims, some with Bullet Wounds and other injuries, were put on buses without being brought to the attention of medics. Some families were told that their family members had survived when they had not. And victim families and Community Members struggled to receive timely and Accurate Information about what had occurred at robb elementary. The Justice Departments objective in preparing this report was threefold. First, honors of victims and survivors and their loved ones. Second, to provide a clear and independent accounting of the Law Enforcement response to the horrific attack that devastated the community. And third, to provide Law Enforcement agencies and communities across the country with analysis and recommendations about how what happened at uvalde should inform efrts to prepare themselves for and respond to Mass Shootings. Policings a noble professionit. It requires training and constant education about evolving threa. The report includes widely accepted recommendations that have been adopted by Law Enforcement agencies across the country about how to prepare f r situations. Before an active shooter incident occurs, Law Enforcement agencies have a responsibility to ensure that their leaders and all their officers are trained to focus on rapid response. On the scene must focus on eliminating the threat and protecting the victims most in danger. Law enforcement officers responding to an active shooter must be prepared to take charge, to establish a unified command, and to facilitate communications, operational coronation, and delivery of resources. They must continually assess and adjust as the incident evolves. In the aftermath of a mass ent and gudgeon Government Agencies must provide the public with a sense of trust and confidence by communicating■7 openly, clearly, and compassionately during a time in which many are learning most devastating news that any human being. Can receive. Theb elementary on may 24, 2022 deserve better. First and foremost, the 19 children and their teachers who were stolen from their loved ones should be here today. They never should have been targeted by a mass shooter. We must never forget the shooters heinous act that day. The victims and survivors should never have been trapped with that shooter for more than an hour as they waited for their scue. The families of the victims and survivors to observe more than incomplete and conflicting communications about the status of their loved ones. This community deserved more than misinformation from officials during and after the attack. Responding officers here in uvalde who also lost loved ones and who still bear the emotional scores scars of that day deserve the kind of leadership and training that would have prepared them to do the work that was required. Our children deserve better than to grow up country where an 18yearold has easy access to a weapon that belongs on the battlefield, not in the classroom. In communities across the country,cers who protect them deserve better than to be forced to respond to one horrific mass shootingfterbut thats the terry that we face. And so its a reality that every Law Enforcement agency in every Community Across the country must be prepared for. No community and no Law Enforcement agency should have to face that threat alone. Thats why we came to uvalde and thats why we are releasing this report. Across the country and with Law Enforcement agencies working to protect those communities every day. In particular, we stand ready to help communities and agencies prepare to respond to a terrible incident like the one that occurred here. Weve concluded that department review. But we note that the work of healing here in uvalde is only pbewe are humbled and grateful o stand with this community as you remember and honor your ones. I will now turn the podium over to the associate. Her leadership has been key ef. Im also grateful to the entire review team and the Department Office under the leadership of Hugh Clements for their tireless work. Thank you mr. Attorney general. Its hard to look at the, that the Law Enforcement response on may 24 was an unimaginable4[ failure and a lak of action by adults failed to protect children and their teachers. But we cant look away from what happened here. We cant look away from these children and we cant look away from what happened in uvalde. Nity lost 19 beloved children and two teachers at robb elementary school. In the days and weeks following, the Community Also lost a sense of safe and trust in their own neighbors and institutions. Own neighbors a they tried to make what happened on the 24. During that time, the then mayor called me the Justice Department to conduct an independent review of what had happened and what went wrong on may 24 and in the days that followed. Shortly after the Justice Department began its review. The attorney general just gave a sense of the timeline that we have lined out and the failures that occurred over the course of 77 minutes when between Law Enforcement arrived and when they entered the classroom but we know the pain and failures Law Enforcement finally entered the classroom and rescued survivors and continued at minute 78 when it became clear that there was no leader, no plan to triage the victims in room 111 and 112. They were moved away. Victims who were already passed away in ambulancees and children in Bullet Wounds were put on school buses without medical attention. One victim was placed on the ground outside to be attended to. She died there. The reunification and notification of families was chaotic and truly deeply painful. During and during the 77 minutes, families received unclear and conflicting information about where to go to reunite. Family members waited at the school for hours not knowing where their children were if they were safe, hurt or even alive. Families searching for their loved ones were sent to the high school, civic center, the hospital. Some of these details are gut wrenching. Families hearing about the nd of autopsy results hearing that their loved ones may not have survived. An official told families waiting for their children that an additional bus of survivors was coming not. Inaccurate and social media posts only made things worst. 12 06 p. M. , Law Enforcement posted on facebook, we are assuring parents that students and staff are safe in the building. That assurance was never corrected. Law enforcement inaccurately reported that the shooter was in custody. That post was never corrected. Those news schedules and immediate pa engage were inAccurate Information. State and local agencies failed to coordinate to information being provided to families and Community Members and the public. We also know that following a tragedy endures and thert of Community Needs has been missing and we cannot talk about what happened without the tragee where all children should be supported and cared for and safe. Our report documents missteps that contributed to this tragedy and the Campus Safety plan was f templates and security measures that were not available at robb and there was a come placens with routinely left unlocked and that confusion over to wher maso the delay in entering classrooms in 111 and 112. When i came to uvalde to meet with families and this report not only looks backwards but identifies Lessons Learned to prevent Something Like this fm. R community can assume that what happens here or in newtown or in parkland or columbine cant happen in their community. That is our reality. This report offers 273 for Law Enforcement agencies and other officials. That includes a series of recommendations for Law Enforcement and Government Agencies preparing for and responding to mass shooting and active shooting incidents. In the aftermath of an active shooting incident, they must provide guidance to all respond i. R. S. And triage planning as soon as possible. Law enforcement and government officials must provide timely and Accurate Information and give Community Members as much information at any given to avoid rumors, uncertainty. If an organization shares Incorrect Information with the public, it should be open corr. In the days, weeks and years after a devastating attack, survivors of victim, Community Members and Law Enforcement and First Responders should continue to offer support. The Justice Department remains committed to the uvalde community. Funds are being used toht suppot Victim Services and working with the state of texas and the uvalde to complete the for Justice Department funding to enable fondle. And the department has awarded the local School District substantial funding through our School Violence Prevention Program to he improve School Safety and community. Before we started this review, we consulted with chiefs of police to build out of experts including Law Enforcement officers who led their communities through Mass Violence their expertise to us and their commitment. The riew te■ks ams were reviewig 14,000 pieces of data including policies and procedures, trainingjc logs, body camera and close circuit. And nine visits to uvalde of and conducted interviews and individuals for more than 30 organizations and agencies including responding to family members and school and hospital staff. They traveled throughout the country to review practices and train ing courses. Other organizations and news outlets have documented what happened on this horrific day, but all of this work has led to a report that is both the most looking beyond the immediate and Victim Services and as well as thew postinci■ dent■k responsed investigation and preincident planning and preparation. The public demands a lot from Law Enforcement and we take their service tore granted. Every day Police Officers run towards danger to keep people safe. On may 24, 2022, that did not happen. Uvalde is a community that is o the path of healing. So are the powerful murals commemorating each child and ■teacr 24. And masking change to make sure it doesnt happen again. And our commitment to the you valleyed yes community does not end here. Through funding, Technical Assistance and training we will sut to address violence. Just as we have looked back, we will look forward. We will commemorate the lives of those who were lost and make suring sure they are cared for. And i will pass this to the director. This report stresses the■j importance of those working relationships and how invaluable they are especially when there is a Critical Incident. The recommendations we provide is so critically important. Unfortunately, the review of the mass shooting at■mec robb elemy school is not the first critical review. But having done this before, we knowalue of the information provided. Other Critical Incidents reviews that the cops office has reviewed we heard from the agencies involved how valuable these reports are and and agencies across the cou recommes shared in their own planning. We have seen how vitally important to have the right policies and procedures in place, how important training is and how critical it is that agencies train together. Reviews such as this can be helpful and important to Law Enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. As they Work Together to see how to improve policies, procedures, systems and most■ importantly, relationships. We talk about that and much, much more in this be an importae for Law Enforcement agencies in the years to come. You will see in this report that the team has worked diligently in carrying out a number of critical steps including veloping a complete incident reconstruction, reviewing thousands of relevant documents, conducting site visits and interviewing stakeholders. We know nothing can take away cs endured. And providing this community with transparent and independent review. And this report has done just that. Thank you. [indiscernle] what happened at uvalde, including by everyone at uvalde, all responding agencies and ■■re of leadership and all members of the leadership who failed were identified. It identifies individual officers by rank and by what agency theyre from and the department and critical reviews does not name those who are listed at fault and not to name those in lower ranks who acted on the scene. So [indiscernible] columbine shooting on may 24. The report concludes that had Law Enforcement agencies followed generally accepted practices in an active shooting situation and gone right at the shooter to stop him, lives would have been saved and people would have survived. Based on no criminal charges have been filed against anyone. Based on what you found in this report, the uvalde attorney general has filed criminal charges. It question for the d. A. The Justice Department only has jurisdiction federal crime has dead. The shooter is dead. What we have done is respond to the mayors response and determine the manner in which the agencies responded and recommendations for the future. [indiscernible] most significant failure and most significant and urgent thing for Law Enforcement to do is active Shooter Training that provides when an active shooter is in a building or anywhere else, stop that shooter and remove people who are endangered by that shooter. That requires Tactical Training and response and who is the onsite and making clear that that person will be the onsite commander and requires response. [indiscernible] im not sure what that means. I think it is absolutely necessary that any circumstance where there is going to be more than one agency responding and any school situation, all the possible agencies should train together in order to accomplishk lines of communication, command structure and communication structure, in particular, the radios did not have a way to talk to each other. [indiscernible] you talked about theulse nightclub, but i will say what i described and what the report describes the generally accepte■ response to an active shooter. We did a survey across the country and the experts that were involved in this are experts in active shooter and no doubt that the standard practice. You answer that specifically. I dont know if that is entirely true. This report is comprehensive. It is extensive. And i urge you all to read it, from the executive summary, all hundreds ofn epic, complete lack of leadership, unity of command, and that isnt the case with the pulse nightclub. And with this one, it is not■ entirely true and the response was a failure of leadership. Thanks everyone. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2024] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org. A healthy democracy looks like this. 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