AUSTIN (KXAN) — At least 79 officers have left the Texas Department of Public Safety since the deadly Robb Elementary School shooting on May 24 in Uvalde, according to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, or TCOLE.
Among them were the top two highest-ranking leaders of the Texas Rangers.
Those officers were Chief Chance Collins and his second in command Assistant Chief Bryan Burzynski.
The timing of their retirements prompted KXAN to ask whether the Uvalde school shooting and DPS’ involvement directly influenced their decisions.
KXAN attempted to contacted both officers multiple times via email, phone and social media to learn more about why they decided to retire. KXAN has not received a response from Collins, however, Burzynski reached out to KXAN after publishing this story.
Burzynski told KXAN he had been planning to retire in 2022 since becoming assistant chief in 2019. Prior to the Robb Elementary school shooting, Burzynski said he considered waiting until 2024 to retire.
“Uvalde was an important factor for why I retired now,” said Burzynski.
While KXAN has not confirmed the reasons Collins’ retired, a timeline of events and records of DPS emails reveal new insight into the circumstances surrounding Collins’ retirement and how some DPS officers feel about the culture and environment within the agency.
TIMELINE: What’s happened since the school shooting
According to email records, Burzynski submitted his retirement paperwork to DPS in June, less than three weeks after the Robb Elementary School shooting.
In July, DPS created an internal committee to review the actions of each of the 91 DPS officers who responded to the Robb Elementary School shooting.