Former cop who did Uvalde’s Robb Elementary audit had no active-shooter training

The Austin investigator who delivered a controversial report clearing Uvalde law enforcement personnel of wrongdoing in their handling of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting had no training in responding to active shooter situations, KSAT reports.

Although Jess Prado, a consultant the City of Uvalde hired to handle an investigation of the shooting response, served on the Austin Police Department for more than 20 years, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records show he had no active-shooter training, according to the TV station.

“Gosh, what were the qualifications? He came recommended as an investigator that did this kind of work. And we did a little looking into his background [and] that’s what we got,” Uvalde City Manager Vince DiPiazza told KSAT when asked about Prado’s qualifications.

Uvalde Mayor Pro-Tem Everardo Zamora said the Tarski Law Firm, the attorneys for the city, recommended  Prado, whom the city retained in July 2022 to conduct an audit of the Robb tragedy, one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history. Twenty-one people, including 19 children, lost their lives in the attack, which took place May 24, 2022.

The City of Uvalde paid Prado $100,000 to conduct his probe, which he was initially expected to wrap up in 60 to 90 days, according to KSAT.

Delivered last month — some seven months after Prado was hired — the report found that none of the initial five Uvalde police officers who arrived at the school shooting violated policy or committed major acts of misconduct. The document also cleared three Uvalde police dispatchers who were on duty during the tragedy.

Prado’s audit drew the ire of victims’ parents, who blasted it as “disrespectful” and a “joke” in comments to the Texas Tribune. Those families have repeatedly expressed outage that law enforcement personnel waited 77 minutes to enter the school and confront the gunman.

Indeed, a separate U.S. Justice Department investigation of the law-enforcement response found that “cascading failures” by personnel resulted in a botched response and may have led to unnecessary loss of life.

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This article appears in Apr 3-16, 2024.