Archiv: Texas
Uvalde Class Action Lawsuit to be Filed Against Law Enforcement Agencies, Gun Manufacturer
He then listed off Uvalde ISD, its police chief Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde Police Department, the Uvalde County Sheriff, the Texas Rangers, the Department of Public Safety (DPS), and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol as the law enforcement subjects of the impending suit.
Report on Uvalde Shooting Finds ‘Systemic Failures’ in Police Response
After the report came out, the mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughlin, said the acting chief during the shooting, Lt. Mariano Pargas, had been placed on administrative leave and that the city had begun its own internal investigation. The city released body camera footage documenting the actions of the Uvalde officers at the scene.
The facts laid out in the report also made clear that neither existing gun laws, nor expanded background checks passed by Congress in response to the shooting, would have prevented the gunman, Salvador Ramos, from obtaining the weapon he used.
In June 2 meeting, Uvalde officials painted police response to Robb Elementary shooting as heroic
“My recollection is that (Uvalde Mayor Donald McLaughlin Jr.) was upset with the way that DPS had conducted the press conferences, and they had prepared that narrative and they were going to release it,” Busbee said in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News. “And then I objected to it because … the investigation had just begun so we did not know if that was a true assessment of what transpired. There was no way for us to tell or assess whether or not that narrative was accurate.”
Busbee’s office is investigating the school shooting and how officers on the scene responded.
Uvalde Mayor Condemns ‚Chicken‘ Media for Releasing School Shooting Video
Mayor Don McLaughlin criticized The Austin American-Statesman and ABC affiliate KVUE at a meeting of the city council on Tuesday for releasing school surveillance video from the shooting.
McLaughlin told the meeting: „I want to go on the record. The way that video was released today was one of the most chicken things I‘ve ever seen.
Another member of the city council said that it was „chickensh*t.“
Exclusive: Watch Uvalde school shooting video obtained by Statesman showing police response
A 77-minute video recording captured from this vantage point, along with body camera footage from one of the responding officers, obtained by the American-Statesman and KVUE, shows in excruciating detail dozens of sworn officers, local, state and federal — heavily armed, clad in body armor, with helmets, some with protective shields — walking back and forth in the hallway, some leaving the camera frame and then reappearing, others training their weapons toward the classroom, talking, making cellphone calls, sending texts and looking at floor plans, but not entering or attempting to enter the classrooms.
US-Schulmassaker: Neue Videoaufnahmen sorgen für Empörung
Gestern von der Zeitung „Austin American-Statesman“ und dem Lokalsender KVUE veröffentlichte Bilder einer Überwachungskamera zeigen unter anderem, dass Polizisten sich eine Stunde und 14 Minuten lang im Schulflur aufhielten, bevor sie den 18-jährigen Angreifer in einem Klassenzimmer erschossen.
Breaking: DPS confirms to @TexasTribune that on day of the Uvalde school shooting, a teacher shut the door the gunman later entered from but its automatic lock malfunctioned. DPS is investigating why. This contradicts earlier DPS statements that the teacher left the door open.
(31.05.2022)
Waiting for keys, unable to break down doors: Uvalde schools police chief defends delay in confronting gunman
Eventually, a janitor provided six keys. Arredondo tried each on a door adjacent to the room where the gunman was, but it didn’t open.
Later, another key ring with between 20 and 30 keys was brought to Arredondo.
“I was praying one of them was going to open up the door each time I tried a key,” Arredondo said in an interview.
None did.
Eventually, the officers on the north side of the hallway called Arredondo’s cellphone and told him they had gotten a key that could open the door.
The officers on the north side of the hallway formed a group of mixed law enforcement agencies, including U.S. Border Patrol, to enter the classroom and take down the shooter, Arredondo said.
Uvalde school police chief says he didn‘t keep officers from breaching massacre scene and didn‘t consider himself the commander, report says
„I didn‘t issue any orders,“ he told the Tribune, though the outlet reports the chief did instruct officers to start breaking the outside windows of other classrooms and begin evacuating students. „I called for assistance and asked for an extraction tool to open the door“ of one of the classrooms where the shooting happened, he said.
Arredondo „assumed that some other officer or official had taken control of the larger response,“ the Tribune wrote.
Uvalde mayor says he‘s frustrated by lack of transparency in school shooting investigation
„We‘ve asked for a briefing or something but we‘re not getting it. I‘ve been told they‘re law enforcement and we‘re not going to be entitled to it at this time,“ Mayor Don McLaughlin said at a city council meeting. „I‘ve asked everybody involved for a briefing at one point or another. It‘s frustrating, but again I‘ve been told I‘m not law enforcement, but it makes me feel real frustrated.“
He said he has asked other officials with insights on the investigation to hold a press conference, to no avail.
Uvalde school shooting: Narratives, and blame, shift again as dysfunction engulfs shooting probe
(31.05.2022)
In the school teacher’s case, Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw said Friday that the unnamed teacher had propped open the door through which the gunman entered the school. DPS now says a teacher shut that door but its automatic lock malfunctioned. Considine said DPS is investigating why the lock didn’t work.
The reversal came hours after a lawyer representing the teacher told the San Antonio Express-News that the teacher closed the door before the shooter entered the building.
A timeline of how the Texas school massacre — and the police response — unfolded
(June 1, 2022)
11:33 a.m.: The shooter enters the school and begins shooting into a classroom, which is connected to a second class. He shot „at least“ 100 rounds, McCraw said.
(…)
11:42 a.m.: A source close to a teacher receives a text saying there was an active shooter on campus. CNN saw the text chain and confirmed the timestamps.
(…)
12:15 p.m.: Members of the Border Patrol‘s tactical unit, BORTAC, arrive on scene, McCraw said.
(…)
12:50 p.m.: Law enforcement breach the locked classroom door using keys from a janitor, McCraw said. They shoot and kill the suspect.
Gov. Greg Abbott says he was misled about poor police response to Uvalde shooting
“I am livid about what happened,” Abbott said during a news conference in Uvalde, the site of the shooting where a gunman killed 19 students and two adults Tuesday. “The information I was given turned out, in part, to be inaccurate, and I am absolutely livid about that.”
In his first news conference after the shooting, Abbott had praised how police handled the shooting, applauding their „amazing courage.“
‘Horrifying’ conspiracy theories swirl around Texas shooting
(May 26, 2022)
By now it’s as predictable as the calls for thoughts and prayers: A mass shooting leaves many dead, and wild conspiracy theories and misinformation about the carnage soon follow.
Täter eine Stunde an Schule : Kritik an US-Polizei nach Amoklauf in Texas
Darüber, wie genau sich die Tat abgespielt hat, hatte es in den vergangenen Tagen widersprüchliche Angaben von der Polizei gegeben. Zunächst hieß es, der Schütze sei bereits vor der Schule von einer Sicherheitskraft konfrontiert worden. Das bestätigte Escalon nun nicht. Stattdessen konnte der 18-Jährige ungehindert durch eine unverschlossene Tür in die Schule laufen.
Bei der Pressekonferenz am Donnerstag gerieten die Behörden unter Rechtfertigungsdruck. „Warum klären Sie das nicht auf und erklären uns, wie es sein kann, dass Ihre Beamten eine Stunde lang drin waren (…), aber niemand in der Lage, in diesen Raum zu gelangen?“, fragte ein Journalist.
Bay Area districts express grief, increase patrols following massacre at Texas elementary school
School officials across the Bay Area expressed sorrow and extra patrols are planned in the wake of a massacre at a Texas elementary school where 19 students were killed. Sara Donchey reports. (5/24/22)
Arizona Democrat drops f-bombs on ‚baby killer‘ Ted Cruz for dismissing gun control
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a potential challenger to centrist Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, criticized Cruz as a hypocrite for identifying himself as an anti-abortion lawmaker and pushing for the reversal of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortions nationwide, but not taking more steps to fight mass shootings.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, endorsed by Trump, wins Republican primary
Incumbent Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has won the Republican primary over George P. Bush, the Texas General Land Office commissioner, according to a race call from The Associated Press.
Yesterday, I sued the Biden Admin over its unlawful OSHA vax mandate. WE WON. Just this morning, citing “grave statutory and constitutional issues,” the 5th Circuit stayed the mandate. The fight is not over and I will never stop resisting this Admin’s unconstitutional overreach!
Federal court of appeals issues temporary halt to Biden vaccine mandate
A federal court issued Texas a temporary victory in its lawsuit against the Biden administration’s coronavirus vaccine mandate issuing a stay on the controversial federal government regulation in Texas.
Governor Abbott Issues Executive Order Prohibiting Vaccine Mandates By Any Entity, Adds Issue To Special Session Agenda
October 11, 2021 | Austin, Texas | Press Release
Governor Greg Abbott today issued an executive order stating that no entity in Texas can compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccination by any individual, including an employee or consumer, who objects to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience, based on a religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19. Governor Abbott also sent a message to the the Chief Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate adding this issue as an item to the Third Special Session agenda. The executive order will be rescinded upon the passage of such legislation.
‘Must always be voluntary’: Texas governor orders ban on private company vaccine mandates
The move comes as the Biden administration is set to issue rules requiring employers with more than 100 workers to be vaccinated or test weekly for the coronavirus. Several major companies, including Texas-based American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, have said they would abide by the federal mandate.
Texas governor opens new front on vaccine mandates
Abbott’s move is an escalation in the Republican battle against vaccine mandates, something that many public health experts view as a key tool in the fight against the pandemic, given that voluntary efforts like incentives have hit their limits. The politicization of vaccine mandates could also undermine vaccination efforts even for other diseases, some experts warn.
Vaccine Mandate Madness
Biden‘s needless order is hurting workers and feeding polarization.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bans ‚any entity‘ from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate
„The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced,“ Abbott said in a press release Monday.
Abbott‘s executive order prohibits „any entity“ in the state from compelling an individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine „who objects to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience.“
Gouverneur von Texas erklärt Impfpflicht für ungültig
Abbotts Regierung erklärte nun, dass „keine Einrichtung in Texas“ eine CoV-Impfung von Angestellten oder Kunden verlangen dürfe, wenn diese eine Impfung aus „persönlichen Gewissensgründen, aufgrund einer religiösen Überzeugung oder aus medizinischen Gründen“ ablehnen.
Absolutely blown away by @DillonFrancis at his FIRST SHOW BACK! Thank you for coming to my town Texas! Completely made my night. #SaveTheRave
Hart InterCivic
Hart InterCivic Inc. is a privately held United States company that provides election technologies and services to government jurisdictions. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Hart products are used by hundreds of jurisdictions nationwide, including counties in Texas, the entire states of Hawaii and Oklahoma, half of Washington and Colorado, and certain counties in Ohio, California, Idaho,[1] Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.[2]
Hart entered the elections industry in 1912, printing ballots for Texas counties.
Biden’s oil slip gives Trump campaign hope in Pa., Texas
Both 2020 candidates have lavished attention to the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, the likely tipping-point state in the Electoral College.
Democrats play defense, GOP goes on attack after Biden oil comments
Campaign manager Bill Stepien told reporters they would “put the nail in the coffin” for Biden in Pennsylvania, and possibly Ohio and Minnesota.
Biden and Trump are also locked in a tight race in Texas, a state Democrats have long dreamed of taking but one in which the comments could prove damaging.
Chinese-owned Surge Energy expands oil field business in U.S. Texas
Surge Energy currently has about 93,000 net acres of land lease rights and more than 700 producing wells in the Permian Basin in western Texas and eastern New Mexico, the largest source of shale oil production growth in the United States.
Calls grow for Democrats to ramp up spending in Texas
Former Rep. Beto O‘Rourke (D-Texas), whose 2018 Senate campaign was credited with a massive surge in turnout across the state, on Sunday called for former Vice President Joe Biden to visit Texas.
„Texas could win this for Biden and end the nightmare on election night. Texans are doing their part. We’d sure like to see @JoeBiden visit us and spend more resources here,“ wrote O‘Rourke on Twitter.
Joe Biden Narrowly Leads Donald Trump in New Texas Presidential Poll
When the poll only included those who were certain, Trump had a slight lead of 46 percent to 44 percent. The poll was conducted between October 15 and October 18 among 933 likely Texas voters.
The poll included 180 respondents who said they had already cast ballots in early voting, which began in Texas on October 13. Among those who already voted, 57 percent said they had voted for Biden, compared to 41 percent for the president.
Trump up by 2 points in Texas poll
Trump leads Biden 48 to 46 percent, according to a CBS News poll released Sunday. The president’s lead is within the poll’s 3.5 percentage point margin of error.
Trump built on his slim lead over Biden, adding to his 1-point lead over the former vice president in a similar poll from July, according to CBS.
Hundreds of Texas bar owners pledge defiance to Abbott order
Fort Worth bar owner Chris Polone has organized what’s labeled as “Freedom Fest,” in which hundreds of bar owners say they’ll open their doors and set ’em up Saturday. About 800 bar owners have promised participation, Polone told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which could place their state liquor licenses in jeopardy.
Group of Texas bars plans to open illegally in statewide protest Saturday against Gov. Abbott’s shutdown order
(22.07.2020)
Polone, however, is now organizing Freedom Fest in alliance with other bars and venues across the state that will open their doors illegally for concerts on Saturday, July 25.
When Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officers gave him the option of shutting the event down or losing his liquor license on July 4, Polone — who was broadcasting on Facebook Live — got on stage, ranted, and tore up the paperwork. Then he went outside, lit up a cigarette, and said his lawyers were ready to sue the state of Texas.
Thousands March Through Downtown Dallas in One of Most Diverse Protests to Date
Thousands of people gathered at Belo Garden Park in downtown Dallas on the ninth day of protests in the city against social injustice.