{"id":879400,"date":"2026-06-20T00:44:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T00:44:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/879400\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T00:44:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T00:44:14","slug":"what-does-san-antonio-want-in-its-next-police-chief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/879400\/","title":{"rendered":"What does San Antonio want in its next police chief?"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO<\/strong> \u2013 Who\u2019s going to lead the San Antonio Police Department?<\/p>\n

Chief William McManus, 74, has been at the helm of SAPD for most<\/a> of the past 20 years but plans to retire this fall. This week, the city posted<\/a> the opening for his job on its website<\/a>, looking for an \u201caccomplished police executive with a proven record of building trust across the department, and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seven-page brochure<\/a> for the job indicates the city\u2019s not looking for someone to dramatically overhaul the department. <\/p>\n

Instead, it states the next chief \u201cwill inherit both a strong foundation and a clear mandate: Stabilize and strengthen the department from within while deepening the external relationships that make San Antonio\u2019s public safety model work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the posting, Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), a police research and policy organization hired by the city to conduct a national search, led a community survey on what residents want in the next chief and talked with stakeholder focus groups.<\/p>\n

Ananda Tomas, the founder and executive director of public safety reform group Act 4 SA, took part in one such discussion in early May. She told KSAT she wants the next chief to \u201cstay tight and strong\u201d on officer discipline and addressing misconduct.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we were on a scale of one to 10, I would say Chief McManus is a six, and we need an eight or higher when it comes to police discipline, police accountability, and being open to groups that sometimes have a different idea than you may,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Tomas also wants clarity on how police interact or work with federal immigration officials. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of folks in our community that are still unclear on that,\u201d she said. \u201cFolks that are not calling police in domestic violence situations or violent situations because they\u2019re afraid that ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is going to be called and deport and separate their family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The job posting is open until July 15, and Councilwoman Sukh Kaur (D1) said she and council members were able to recommend people to be part of the eventual interview process. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I, as the chair of (the council Public Safety Committee), am looking for is someone who sees public safety holistically,\u201d she told KSAT. \u201cSo thinking about not only what our reaction times are and how fast we\u2019re getting to crime scenes, but also what are we doing in terms of community safety, ensuring that we\u2019re building better relationships with our communities and helping our SAFFE (San Antonio Fear Free Environment) officer program grow as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Debbie Bush co-founded the Marquise Jones Foundation after her nephew<\/a> was shot and killed at a drive-thru by an off-duty SAPD officer working security in 2014. She wants a \u201cmore stern\u201d police chief who\u2019s willing to discipline officers and also meet with the families of people shot by police. <\/p>\n

\u201cLet those families know that you\u2019re doing the best that you can to investigate the murders and that you\u2019re going to follow the law or the disciplinary actions that need to be taking place with the officer,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

McManus was the Minneapolis police chief when he was hired in 2006, but Bush would prefer the next chief come from San Antonio.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you live here in San Antonio and you know how San Antonio works, you know the ins and outs of San Antonio,\u201d she said. \u201cFor someone to come from another city and never have been to San Antonio, how do you know how the community works? That\u2019s the problem, is that we need the police departments to work with the community. And that\u2019s not happening. They do not work with the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

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