Jury Acquits Ex-Uvalde School Cop Adrian Gonzales Over Mass Shooting Response

A jury tonight acquitted former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer Adrian Gonzales of all counts for his response to an active shooter at Robb Elementary School in 2022 who went on to commit one of the deadliest school shootings in United States history.

Jurors at the Nueces County Courthouse in Corpus Christi deliberated for more than seven hours before finding former Uvalde schools police officer Adrian Gonzalez, 52, not guilty of 29 counts of child endangerment or abandonment under Texas state law.

Gonzales appeared to fight back tears after Judge Sid Harle read the verdict in court.

00:47 "The state of Texas versus Adrian Gonzales. In each of the 29 counts, We the jury find the defendant. Adrian Gonzales not guilty. You may be seated."

"Members of the jury, I want to thank each and every one of you for your close attention and your patience and being with us timely throughout this trial. I know it was not easy for you.

I know everybody was drafted. Nobody volunteered. It was a long endeavor, and I want to thank each and every one of you for being here. I'm going to ask you one more time to go with the bailiff to the jury room, and we'll release you from back there, but thank each and every one of you."

01:44 "Mr. Gonzales, you were acquitted by the jury. Your lawyers could talk to you more about this, but you do have the opportunity, within a timely manner, to file for that expunction. They will tell you further about that, but it's incumbent on me to tell you that immediately after the verdict is returned. Alright, we're in recess. Thank you very much."

04:22 Judge Harle to Prosecutor Bill Turner: "Bill, wonderful job. Thank you. Pleasure to meet you."

06:16 "Jason, congratulations," Judge Harle tells defense attorney Jason Goss. "Thank you. I couldn't ask for a better judge.

Gonzales was charged with one crime for each of the 19 children who were murdered and 10 who were injured by the 18-year-old gunman, who was killed when law enforcement eventually breached a classroom door.

Pete Arredondo, the former school police chief who is scheduled for trial after Gonzales, is charged with 10 counts, one for each injured child, and is scheduled for trial after Gonzales.

The prosecution argued that because Gonzales was one of the first officers at the school and heard the gunman firing outside, his failure to follow active shooter training, which calls for immediate engagement, endangered each child in the two adjoining classrooms where the victims were shot. The case against Arredondo alleges his decisions as incident commander prolonged the danger for the children who survived the gunfire and were calling for help.

In trial, Gonzales’ lawyers said he responded as best he could based on the information he had at the time. They tried to refute prosecutors’ argument that he missed a chance to stop the gunman from going into the school, and they compared his actions to the actions of other officers such as now-retired Uvalde police Sgt. Daniel Coronado, who has not been charged with a crime.

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