A Texas judge has refused to throw out criminal charges accusing the former Uvalde schools police chief of endangering children in the slow law enforcement response to the 2022 Robb Elementary shooting.

A former Uvalde, Texas, school police officer who was part of the slow law enforcement response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School has pleaded not guilty during a court appearance.

Two indictments against former Uvalde, Texas, schools police officers were the first charges brought against law enforcement for the botched response that saw hundreds of officers wait more than an hour to confront an 18-year-old gun who killed 21 at an elementary school.

An indictment alleges the police chief for schools in Uvalde, Texas, failed to identify an active shooting, did not follow his training and made critical decisions that slowed the law enforcement response to stop a gunman who was “hunting” victims.

Uvalde’s former school police chief has been booked and released from jail following a grand jury investigation into the police response during the Robb Elementary School shooting in 2022.