Orange County's sheriff is joining a Department of Justice task force investigating the police response to the Uvalde, Texas school shooting.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the task force as part of a critical incident review as law enforcement’s response to the shooting that left 21 dead comes under increased scrutiny.
“Nothing can undo the pain that has been inflicted on the loved ones of the victims, the survivors, and the entire community of Uvalde,” said Garland. “But the Justice Department can and will use its expertise and independence to assess what happened and to provide guidance moving forward.”
The members include experts in active shooter response, tactical operations, and victim support.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina was Orlando Police Chief during the Pulse Nightclub shooting which left 49 dead. It will be six years since what was at the time the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
“Many of us on the team have a shared experience no law enforcement leader wants: our communities were the target of a mass shooting,” Mina said in a statement. “I’m committed to drawing on that experience as we focus on the very important work of finding out what happened in Uvalde, and using that knowledge to improve law enforcement response to critical incidents and help prevent future tragedies.”
Other members of the task force include law enforcement leaders from Sacramento, California; Virginia Tech, Virginia; and Aurora, Illinois — all sites of mass shootings.
Copyright 2022 WMFE. To see more, visit WMFE.