美国国家公共电台 NPR--The school district in Uvalde, Texas, has placed its police chief on leave

The school district in Uvalde, Texas, has placed its police chief on leave

Transcript¹

The decision to suspend Pete Arredondo follows the police response to the deadly school shooting at Robb Elementary which has been called an "abject² failure."

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The superintendent³ of the Uvalde, Texas, school district has placed its police chief, Pete Arredondo, on administrative⁴ leave. Arredondo has faced a lot of criticism for the slow response to last month's shooting at Robb Elementary School. Nineteen students and two teachers died after a gunman burst into the school, and authorities waited more than an hour to get inside the classroom and kill the suspect. Texas Public Radio's Dan Katz has this report.

DAN KATZ, BYLINE⁵: The drumbeat calling for Arredondo's removal has been growing ever since last month's shooting. Wednesday's decision by the superintendent of the Uvalde Consolidated⁶ Independent School District, Hal Harrell, was announced via a written statement. Harrell acknowledged the frustration⁷ by residents who want accountability. He was waiting for the investigation⁸ to be completed, but as it dragged on, he said he had no choice but to place Arredondo on administrative leave. This comes a day after the top law enforcement officer in Texas again criticized Arredondo's actions during the shooting. Steve McCraw is head of the Texas Department of Public Safety. He testified before a state senate hearing.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

STEVE MCCRAW: The only thing stopping a hallway of dedicated⁹ officers from entering room 111 and 112 was the on-scene commander, who decided¹⁰ to place the lives of officers before the lives of children.

KATZ: At the same time, McCraw acknowledged there were as many as 91 state Department of Public Safety officers in the area around the school building before law enforcement confronted the gunman. In a recent interview with the Texas Tribune, Arredondo said he did not consider himself the incident commander during the shooting. He said he waited to confront the shooter because he couldn't find a key to unlock the classroom door. McCraw now says the door was never locked.

The official timeline of the shooting has shifted many times, as law enforcement has struggled to explain with consistency¹¹ who was in charge and why it took more than an hour to breach¹² the classroom door and confront the gunman. Records related to the shooting that could potentially explain this are being kept secret.

It's unclear if Arredondo will be paid while he's on leave. He's kept a low public profile since the shooting. Arredondo has attended summer school sessions and has been sworn in as a city council member, but he hasn't attended any meetings. If he misses one more, he could be removed from that office. For NPR News, I'm Dan Katz in Uvalde.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 abject   

adj.极可怜的，卑屈的

参考例句：

• This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.这一政策最后以惨败而告终。
• He had been obliged to offer an abject apology to Mr.Alleyne for his impertinence.他不得不低声下气，为他的无礼举动向艾莱恩先生请罪。

3 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

4 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

7 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。

12 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。