SAN ANTONIO — Some city officials are raising questions about where police officers are being pulled from to staff extra security… stationed at the home of the mayor… something that’s never regularly been done before.
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’ home is under round-the-clock police watch. Internal post orders obtained by News 4 San Antonio/Fox SA show officers must guard the property both inside and outside, with priority given to an interior hallway just outside the mayor’s private quarters.
This comes just two weeks after the mayor argued with District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte over adding more officers on the streets during a city council budget meeting.
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The document we obtained directs one officer to remain posted in the second-floor hallway at all times, while another patrols the outside perimeter and surrounding block. If the mayor decides to leave the house, an officer has to follow her.
While the mayor has executive detail during the day, sources tell News 4 San Antonio/Fox SA the officers assigned overnight come from the downtown patrol unit—with coverage during shift changes also filled by officers pulled from bike patrol.
That means fewer units are left on city streets during those hours while they sit at the mayor’s home.
The officers’ orders even specify how to handle exchanging the house key from shift to shift, with specific rules — even telling officers where to place a hallway chair at the end of each night.
News 4 San Antonio/Fox SA has an open records request that’s been pending for weeks now. We’re asking for the total taxpayer cost of the mayor’s request for this additional security and a bullet proof vest that was given to her.
So far, the city has not released the amount but we’ll keep pressing for answers.