SAN ANTONIO — City leaders are calling for change in the San Antonio Police Department.
“At this time we’re looking at a systemic problem of injustice,” said District Councilwoman Jada Andrews-Sullivan.
Andrews-Sullivan just one city leader calling for police reform during a special city council meeting held Wednesday afternoon.
The meeting put Police Chief William McManus in the hot seat as council members reviewed the department’s policies, procedures, and protocols.
“Why did you use wooden pellets and rubber bullets to the protestors?” asked District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran.
McManus defended his protocols including the use of the wooden pellets and rubber bullets over the past week.
“Because there was property destruction and officers were being pelted with bottles and bricks,” Mcmanus said responding to Viagran’s question.
McManus said the use of the ammunition is in the police manual as a way to disperse crowds, but added that from now on, he will be the only one to authorize their use.
Also up for discussion, city leaders asked why SAPD’s policies didn’t meet all of the policies set by the 8 Can’t Wait campaign, a push by the non-profit, Campaign Zero to adopt a universal code of ethics aimed at ending police violence.
McManus said his policies were in alignment, but language needed to be changed to fit their requirements.
The chief said his use of force protocols and de-escalation policy, for example, promotes accountability.
McManus was also quick to point out that other departments across the country are just now changing procedures, like banning choke-holds, that SAPD has had in place for years.
Showing a bar graph to council members, McManus also touted the decrease in use of force complaints across the department among other accomplishments.
But McManus did voice opposition to certain disciplinary measures in effect under the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the San Antonio Police Officer’s Association, calling the policies “problematic.”
“Consequences from misconduct must be certain, and they must be final,” said McManus. “State law and collective bargaining contracts protect bad officers.”
The Department has been under fire for the over $479 million dollar budget allocated to the force, and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, negotiated by the city and the union.
“if you want to decimate that and not have it exist anymore and have some little crumbs of what it used to be, then good luck trying to find people to be a policeman,” said Mike Helle, president of the San Antonio Police Officer’s Association.
Helle said officers are dealing with enough as it is with limited staff and resources, and a budget cut could mean even fewer officers on the front lines.
“They're doing the best they can with what little resources that they do have,” said Helle. “We can talk so negatively that people start to believe the things that happen in Minneapolis are here in San Antonio and they're not.”
District 6 City Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda, said as the Chairwoman of the council’s Public Safety Committee, she is hosting three Community Listening sessions to gather input from residents about they feel about policing in the city.
Two of the meetings will be held on a virtual platform, and one in person.
To learn more about the meetings, visit SASpeakUp.
The first meeting is set for Monday, June 15.
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