https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/20/uvalde-shooting-police-ar-15
Mr. Despart's thesis could be summed up as, "The Uvalde police weren't cowards. They were afraid of the gun." Ummm, that, by definition, is cowardice.
The thing is, Mr. Despart seems to know that he's bullshitting; but, he's simply failing to smell it. He acknowledges that the Uvalde police all had rifle rated body armor. He didn't mention that the first officers on the scene were armed with AR-15s themselves; but, they were. He claims that the police were out-gunned; but, even if the police were all only carrying service pistols (which they weren't), 400 pistols to one AR puts the police in a clear position of advantage. Even though most of the first officers on the scene weren't wearing their body armor, a shield rated to take rifle rounds was delivered thirty minutes before they breached.
Still, bottom line, the cops had a better shot in a fight with the gunman than the unarmed students and teachers. It's their fucking job.
By the way, you know who was actually out-gunned? Eli Dicken. He went up against a dude with a rifle when he only had a Glock. He was forty yards away, and could have easily booked it rather than putting his life on the line to kill the mother fucker. This was one young man with a pistol facing a maniac with a rifle, and he did it with no backup and no armor.
No, the cops being afraid of this "battle rifle" isn't an excuse, and it's not an argument for gun control.