LEILA FADEL, HOST:
A Texas state judge has paused testimony in the trial of a former Uvalde school police officer, after the officer's lawyers accused prosecutors on Tuesday of withholding information. Adrian Gonzales is accused of child endangerment in the 2022 shooting, where 19 children and two teachers were killed. Texas Public Radio's Camille Phillips reports.
CAMILLE PHILLIPS, BYLINE: The first day of the trial in Corpus Christi started as expected - a pretrial hearing without the jury present to discuss what evidence and testimony could be presented, followed by opening statements. Special prosecutor Bill Turner laid out an emotional but brief plea to the jury to convict the former officer. He said Gonzales arrived before the gunman entered the school and had a duty to engage the shooter.
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BILL TURNER: We're not asking Adrian Gonzales to commit suicide. He has been trained to go to the corner of a building and distract, delay and impede the gunman while help is arriving. So why are we here? When a child is in danger and calls 911, we have the right to expect a response.
PHILLIPS: As the trial progressed, Gonzales showed very little emotion. Two attorneys from the defense team showed aerial photographs of the school and broke down actions second by second. Attorney Nico LaHood told the jury that Gonzales did what he could with what he knew at the time, and the gunman was responsible for the shooting, not Gonzales.
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NICO LAHOOD: There's an animal involved in this situation - a monster - and he's no longer here. And that monster can't sit in that chair.
PHILLIPS: After opening statements, witnesses began taking the stand, and that's where things took a turn. Former Robb Elementary School teacher Stephanie Hale testified that on May 24, 2022, she saw the gunman on the south side of the school, the same area where Gonzales was. The defense said Hale's testimony was different from her interview with a Texas Ranger in 2022 as part of a Texas legislative investigation.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JASON GOSS: That's why I said the reason I have to ask these questions is because I think - and I think the prosecution will agree with me - the things you're testifying to here today are not the things that you said to the ranger at the time.
PHILLIPS: That's when the defense accused the prosecution of withholding information about the changed testimony. Today, the prosecutors will have a chance to respond during something called emotion argument, which will take place without the jury present. The jury will not be back until Thursday. Manuel Rizo is the uncle of Jackie Cazares, one of the 19 children killed in the shooting. He's concerned that this could hurt the prosecution's case against Gonzales.
MANUEL RIZO: We're already anxious, and now we're upset. All we want is justice for Jackie, and it's been 3 1/2 years, and here we are.
PHILLIPS: So what are the chances of a conviction? Criminologist Alex del Carmen has spent decades training police departments across Texas. He put the chance of conviction at 50-50.
ALEX DEL CARMEN: There's always also going to be the public pressure that, hey, he's a police officer. He needs to be given the benefit of doubt.
PHILLIPS: Since the tragedy, there have been multiple state and federal reviews of the law enforcement response. Every one of them called the response a failure. It took the nearly 400 officers on scene more than an hour to confront the gunman. Gonzales and former school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo are the only officers facing criminal charges. Arredondo's trial date has not been set yet.
For NPR News, I'm Camille Phillips in Corpus Christi. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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