UVALDE, Texas – Two men are running for re-election in Uvalde County for law enforcement positions after being named several times in a scathing Department of Justice report on the Robb Elementary School shooting.
Constable Precinct 1 Johnny Field and Constable Precinct 6 Emmanuel Zamora are each vying for voters to elect them back to their roles.
Field and Zamora were among a handful of elected officials and law enforcement leaders named in the recent DOJ critical incident review of the failed law enforcement response to the May 24, 2022, tragedy.
The report highlights that while Uvalde CISD Police Chief Pete Arredondo and acting Uvalde Police Chief Mariano Pargas should have taken command of the law enforcement response, other law enforcement leads present, like Zamora and Field, should have questioned the decisions being made.
“Based on their locations and titles, there were several other individuals that responders considered or perceived to be in charge at various points, including Uvalde County Precinct 6 Constable Emmanuel Zamora (perimeter), Constable Field (near T-intersection), and the CBP BORTAC Commander (near T[1]intersection/north side and mid-hallway). Although these individuals at times attempted to direct or coordinate with other law enforcement resources around them, none coordinated to develop a plan to enter classrooms 111 and 112 or establish an incident command structure,” the report states.
Currently, Zamora and Field work at the Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde in law enforcement roles.
Field is the police chief there, as well as the SWTJC Law Enforcement Academy coordinator.
Zamora is a training instructor at the college.
In a December 2022 story by the San Antonio Express-News, Field was interviewed by reporter Claire Bryan regarding the law enforcement training done at the college.
The article states that SWTJC added Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) to its program. According to its website, ALERRT’s mission is “to provide the best research-based active shooter response training in the nation.”
In the SAEN interview with Field, he suggested he was eager for the multiple ongoing investigations to wrap up.
“I’m eager to find out what we did wrong,” Field said. “Not just law enforcement but also systematic wrongs. … So, we can fix it and teach these cadets what not to do. That is the only way we learn,” the Express-News article stated.
KSAT 12 News asked SWTJC officials if any action would be taken against Zamora and Field after the DOJ report.
A spokesperson said, “College officials are currently conducting a comprehensive review of the critical incident report.” There’s no estimate on how long that review will take.
Neither Field nor Zamora has answered requests for comment on the DOJ report or if these revelations will impact their re-election campaigns.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
Copyright 2024 by KSAT – All rights reserved.