Nashville Heroes Expose The Lies Of Uvalde Cowards

The Nashville Police have released footage from the body cameras worn by Officers Rex Engelbert and Michael Collazo, who bravely responded to a terrorist attack at the Covenant Church school. The clip, which is just over six minutes long, captures the officers’ impressive bravery, determination, urgency, and skill, as they were among the first two officers to arrive at the scene. There’s no doubt that their actions saved numerous lives on the day.

Their courageous response highlights the shortcomings of the Uvalde police department during the Robb Elementary School’s mass shooting last year. Instead of acting with urgency and bravery, the officers did the opposite, debating what to do, and costing the lives of many children and two teachers. It’s shocking to note that one officer had already aimed his rifle at the shooter even before he had entered the school, but did not take the shot because he was awaiting his boss’ permission.

The Uvalde police department still appears to be trying to justify its cowardice and ineptitude during the incident, and a Texas Tribune article claiming that the officers were scared of the shooter’s AR-15 is yet another attempt to explain away their inexcusable behavior. As far as we can tell, the Nashville police stormed the school with handguns, despite not having their own “assault rifles.”

The local police in Uvalde were also unresponsive to desperate pleas from onlookers who begged them to enter the building. The fact that one of the senior officers lied about not knowing children had been shot when a 10-year-old had called 911 expressing concern that there were many victims in the classroom makes it even worse. One of the teachers shot called her husband to come to her rescue, and he was tackled when he tried to enter the building. It’s safe to say that off-duty Border Patrol officers, who had borrowed a shotgun from their barber, did a better job than the local cops who were still standing around.

While it’s undoubtedly risky and intense for law enforcement to respond to incidents of this type, the job demands that they make tough decisions and rush into harm’s way to protect children’s lives. However, the Uvalde police officers’ response, or lack thereof, played directly into the shooter’s hand, resulting in unnecessary loss of life. In contrast, Nashville’s police officers demonstrated the textbook response to such an incident, which should make every American proud.

David Harsanyi is a senior editor at The Federalist, a nationally syndicated columnist, a Happy Warrior columnist at National Review, and author of five books—the most recent, Eurotrash: Why America Must Reject the Failed Ideas of a Dying Continent. Follow him on Twitter, @davidharsanyi.

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