Categories
Crime Gun Crime

Uvalde Police May Have Accidentally Shot At Least One Of The Children At Robb Elementary: Report

With news that the Uvalde Police Department and the Uvalde Independent School District police force are refusing to cooperate with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s investigation of last Tuesday’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary school that left 21 dead, new questions have arisen, including a suggestion that members of the police force may have accidentally killed one of the 19 children who were slain.

ABC News reports:

According to sources, the decision to stop cooperating occurred soon after the director of DPS, Col. Steven McCraw, held a news conference Friday during which he said the delayed police entry into the classroom was “the wrong decision” and contrary to protocol.

Reached by ABC News, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety said, “The Uvalde Police Department and Uvalde CISD Police have been cooperating with investigators. The chief of the Uvalde CISD Police provided an initial interview but has not responded to a request for a follow-up interview with the Texas Rangers that was made two days ago.”

CNN justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz spoke with Uvalde schools police chief Peter Arredondo, who said he will not comment any further about the investigation as long as families are grieving.

And now we have video in which a child can be heard exclaiming “I got shot!” followed by a police officer remarking:

“They shot a kid.”

There are many unanswered questions eight days after the Uvalde tragedy unfolded, and the only way any answers will ever come to light is if every officer on scene the day of the shooting cooperates fully.

Texas authorities also need to release the bodycam footage from every cop who responded to the shooting, along with any audio or cell phone information that could help the public better understand what may have gone wrong at Robb Elementary.

The families of the children and two teachers who were mercilessly gunned down in Uvalde deserve to know everything that transpired that day. If that means includes indicting any officers or other officials who failed to act or shot errantly, then so be it.

Categories
Gun Crime Joe Biden

WATCH: Greg Abbott Greeted By Boos And Jeers As He Arrives To Meet With President Biden

When he went to meet with President Joe Biden, who was in Texas to meet with the relatives of those who lost loved ones in the Uvalde school shooting on Sunday, it quickly became clear that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is not exactly very popular in his home state at the moment.

Abbott, who has refused to discuss new gun laws in the Lone Star State despite the horrific shooting at Robb Elementary school that left 19 children and two of their teachers dead, was roundly booed and jeered by crowds who had gathered to see President Biden’s arrival.

Here’s the videos:

Abbott is facing an uncertain bid for reelection in November, when he will face Democratic nominee Beto O’Rourke. Texas hasn’t had a Democratic governor since Ann Richards won in 1991.

Categories
GOP The Biden Administration

Jen Psaki Put Texas Governor Greg Abbott On Full Blast Today And It Was Fun To Watch

In a publicity stunt so he can boost his flagging poll numbers as he faces an uncertain bid for reelection, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) recently decided to begin what he dubbed “enhanced” inspections at several key border crossing areas of the state that have greatly slowed down commerce by truck.

According to the El Paso Times, truckers are normally able to get their freight moved from Mexico to Texas in a couple of hours. But then Abbott imposed his enhanced inspections in order to let the public know he’s doing something even though the truth is exactly the opposite:

Truckers said they usually spend two or three hours crossing into El Paso from Juárez. After Gov. Greg Abbott announced new Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper inspections at ports of entry, truckers this week suddenly found themselves in 10-plus hour lines. 

Rather than admit he’d screwed up, Abbott tried to blame the Biden administration, though his logic was badly flawed:

Abbott blamed the Biden administration for “not securing our border” and rescinding Title 42, effective next month. The governor did not explain how DPS inspections, which include safety checks on brakes and lights, relate to immigration policies.

Abbott’s remarks were read back to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki at Wednesday’s press briefing, and she quickly eviscerated the Texas governor, remarking:

 “Well, I think we are trying to state the facts of what his — another political stunt that we seeing happen and the impact of it. What we’re seeing is right now factually there is over $1 million in trade crossing over the US/Mexico border every minute. These actions are impacting people’s jobs and the livelihoods of hardworking people in Texas and across the country. That’s not a political statement. That is a statement of fact. I would note what we’re seeing with these unnecessary inspections of trucks, transiting ports of entry between Texas and Mexico are significant delays which are resulting in a drop of commercial traffic of up to 60% to 70% in some ports.”

Psaki was far from finished, adding:

“And that is significantly impacting the local and regional supply chains to the point that trade associations, officials are businesses are calling for the Texas governor to reverse this self-inflicted gridlock. I would also note that CBP officers are very good at their jobs and Texas DPS does not need to replace them at the southern border. CPD has conducted a record number of drug seizures….so the economic impact here, something that people of all political stripes are calling for a reversal of is something that is significant and we felt that it should be shouted out.”

Jen Psaki is leaving the administration this spring to join MSNBC. Her clear, factual rebutting of Republican bullshit will be missed.

Here’s the video from CBS News:

Categories
Capitol Insurrection

Texas Deputy/MAGA Rioter Gets The Boot From Sheriff After Calling Jan. 6 ‘The Best Day Of My Life’

When she showed up at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, Roxanne Mathai probably thought she’d get to rub elbows with some of her fellow MAGA faithful as they stormed the seat of government, urinating and defecating in the halls of that hallow building.

But Mathai’s postings on social media wound up getting her dismissed from her job as a deputy with the Bexar County, Texas Sheriff’s Department. Mathai appealed her firing to an arbitrator, who just ruled she can indeed be separated from her position, according to KSAT:

Lt. Roxanne Mathai, 47, was given an order of dismissal in June, five months after Sheriff Javier Salazar said he intended to never have Mathai set foot in a BCSO building again.

Mathai appealed Salazar’s decision, then later argued before an arbitrator that she was simply present for a historic event, agency officials said.

“I just thought it was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard. It’s not like you’re standing there for the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That’s a historic event. You’re there when fellow Americans lost their lives. That’s nothing to be proud of,” Salazar said during an interview with KSAT Monday evening.

Mathai and her attorneys have threatened to file a wrongful termination lawsuit against Sheriff Salazar, but it appears their threats are little more than bluster, as no such suit has been filed in either state or federal court.

Mathai’s postings on Jan. 6 were made it clear she wasn’t just there to be a witness to history. Here’s some of what she posted on Facebook:

Mathai also posted a picture showing rioters after they had broken through a police line and occupied the balcony of the Capitol.

“……And we are going in……in the crowd at the stairs…not inside the capitol like the others. Not catching a case lol,” wrote Mathai next to a selfie and several photos of rioters scaling scaffolding in front of the Capitol.

“Not gonna lie…..aside from my kids, this was, indeed, the best day of my life. And it’s not over yet,” wrote Mathai alongside another series of photos.

A deputy sheriff bragging about how elated she was to be part of a criminal act. That’s the height of both arrogance and privilege.

It probably won’t surprise you to learn this isn’t the first time Mathai has been in hot water with her former employer.

Earlier this year, KSAT notes, the deputy was accused of having an “inappropriate relationship” with an inmate:

 A proposed dismissal handed to Mathai earlier this year following an unrelated investigation into a possible inappropriate relationship between her and an inmate was shortened to 120 days, officials acknowledged this summer.

Mathai was able to get the punishment reduced after going through the grievance process.

Attorneys representing Mathai have taken issue with Salazar’s description of that incident, claiming it simply involved Mathai receiving messages from someone she believed was in jail and using a contraband cellphone and was in no way sexual in nature.

But how did an inmate get Mathai’s number in the first place? She would have had to give it to the person, and whether the messages were “sexual in nature” or not, a deputy sheriff shouldn’t be texting with a prisoner.

Karma has finally caught up with Roxanne Mathai. But hey, at least she’ll always have the 6th of January as “the best day” of her life.

 

Categories
Abortion GOP

Texas Doctor Admits That He Just Violated The State’s ‘Extreme’ Anti-Abortion Law

Even though Texas has passed the most restrictive abortion legislation in the country, Dr. Alan Braid is admitting in a very public way — an op-ed in The Washington Post — that he performed an abortion and is in direct violation of the law.

Dr. Braid begins by noting that he started his residency in obstetrics and gynecology in 1972, a year before Roe v. Wade made abortion legal nationwide:

“At the hospital that year, I saw three teenagers die from illegal abortions. One I will never forget. When she came into the ER, her vaginal cavity was packed with rags. She died a few days later from massive organ failure, caused by a septic infection.”

Roe changed everything for those who provide health care to women, Braid goes on to explain, but he fears the bad old days may be about to return in the Lone Star State:

“Then, this month, everything changed. A new Texas law, known as S.B. 8, virtually banned any abortion beyond about the sixth week of pregnancy. It shut down about 80 percent of the abortion services we provide. Anyone who suspects I have violated the new law can sue me for at least $10,000. They could also sue anybody who helps a person obtain an abortion past the new limit, including, apparently, the driver who brings a patient to my clinic.

“For me, it is 1972 all over again.”

What did Dr. Braid do? What a doctor should do: He put the needs of his patient above the law and performed an abortion:

“And that is why, on the morning of Sept. 6, I provided an abortion to a woman who, though still in her first trimester, was beyond the state’s new limit. I acted because I had a duty of care to this patient, as I do for all patients, and because she has a fundamental right to receive this care.”

“I understand that by providing an abortion beyond the new legal limit, I am taking a personal risk, but it’s something I believe in strongly. Represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights, my clinics are among the plaintiffs in an ongoing federal lawsuit to stop S.B. 8.

“I have daughters, granddaughters and nieces. I believe abortion is an essential part of health care. I have spent the past 50 years treating and helping patients. I can’t just sit back and watch us return to 1972.”

Braid says he realizes there could be legal consequences for his actions. But he did what he believed was right as a medical professional:

We need more doctors like Alan Braid. And we need fewer politicians who are eager and willing to stick their noses where they don’t belong out of political expediency.