MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CRIME & JUSTICE

'Did he check his texts as kids were dying?' Uvalde footage slams cop who had PUNISHER as wallpaper

A new video has revealed the delayed police response and shows one cop checking his phone to distract himself

The United States saw its third-deadliest school shooting in history when Salvador Ramos, 18, shot 19 students and two teachers dead on May 24, 2022. The Robb Elementary School shooting in Texas drew severe criticism around growing gun violence and police negligence. The Austin Atlanta-Statesman released a shocking video on Tuesday which showed painful clippings of police officers delaying their response to the highly active shooter.

The 77-minute video reveals how several armed police officers waited for more than an hour before stopping the gunman. The edited hallway video focused on delayed police action and included horrific scenes of students rushing to bathrooms for safety, frantically waiting for the scene to be neutralized. The footage also showed teachers urging students to get inside classrooms and rush for cover. A particular police officer was seen taking his phone out while the shooting was still ongoing, and social media was quick to note that he had The Punisher as his wallpaper. 

ALSO READ

Anaesthetist filmed sexually assaulting pregnant woman after heavily sedating her during C-section

Who is Kyle Moorman? Dad and 3 children missing during fishing trip, family offers $10K reward

One user remarked on Twitter: "That cop in Uvalde having his lock screen be the punisher logo and him being scared to take on an active shooter is truly the perfect encapsulation of how cops see themselves vs who they really are."

Another added: "they didn't want us to see this guy using his service weapon as a stylus to flick past his punisher lock screen so he could check his texts to distract himself from the screams of dying children."

TV Producer Rob Rousseau said, "the image of the Uvalde cop checking his Punisher Phone while children are being murdered down the hall is f***ing madness inducing."

Jason Roeder, former Senior Editor of The Onion, commented: "The Punisher famously had no idea what to do when the shooting started."

The Punisher is a Marvel vigilante character who took revenge on everyone involved in the murder of his family. Of late, the skull icon - representing The Punisher - has become a symbol used by the police and various extremist groups. The logo was also used by some police officers during the Black Lives Matter protests and became a matter of heavy criticism.

TOP STORIES

'Thor: Love and Thunder': Fans slammed for demanding trigger warning for CHEMOTHERAPY scene

Who is Felix Rubio? Video shows Uvalde police restraining cop who tried to save daughter

In an interview with Forbes, the character's creator, Gerry Conway, clarified how the police and military misrepresent it. "The Punisher is representative of the failure of law and order to address the concerns of people who feel abandoned by the legal system," he remarked. The Punisher's skull, too, was inspired by a logo used by the Nazis in the Second World War. To reclaim the character's essence, Conway launched a T-shirt design, 'Skulls for Justice,' which "crowdsourced artwork from people of colour" looking at what happened during BLM.