Adrian Gonzales, one of the first officers to respond to the 2022 attack, is charged with 29 counts of child abandonment or endangerment in a rare prosecution of an officer accused of not doing more to save lives. Authorities waited more than an hour to confront the teenage shooter who killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary.
Gonzales has pleaded not guilty, and his attorney has said the officer tried to save children that day.
The panel of 12 jurors and four alternates were seated Monday evening by Judge Sid Harle, after hundreds of prospective jurors were asked what they knew about the response and their impressions of what happened. The judge had said the court was not looking for jurors who knew nothing about the shooting but wanted those who could be impartial.
About 100 people were dismissed after saying they already formed opinions. One man said more officers should be on trial, while a teacher said she would throw herself in front of her students to protect them.
Bill Turner, a special prosecutor, told potential jurors they would need to consider whether the inaction of the officer proved harmful.
“If there is a duty to act and you fail to act, that’s child endangerment,” he said.
The judge said the trial was expected to last about two weeks.
Among the potential witnesses are FBI agents, rangers with the Texas Department of Public Safety, school employees and family members of the victims.
Nearly 400 officers from state, local and federal law enforcement agencies responded to the school, but 77 minutes passed from the time authorities arrived until a tactical team breached the classroom and killed the shooter, Salvador Ramos.
Gonzales and former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo were among the first on the scene, and they are the only two officers to face criminal charges over the response. Arredondo's trial has not been scheduled.
The charges against Gonzales carry up to two years in prison if he is convicted.
