SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus announced his retirement Friday, but plans to stay in his role through the end of September, records obtained by KSAT Investigates show.
City Manager Erik Walsh thanked McManus, 74, “for his unwavering dedication to the Department and our community,” in an email sent to city staff Friday morning.
McManus sent a statement to colleagues Friday morning as well. KSAT Investigates obtained the statement.
“After 20 years as Chief, working with the fantastic men and women of SAPD, Park and Airport Police, a great city management team under (City Manager) Erik Walsh, and unwavering community support, I have decided to retire in September helping with the transition in the meantime,” McManus’ said in his statement. “From DC, to Dayton, to Minneapolis, SATX has been the best! Keep up the great work and stay safe!”
The city also confirmed McManus’ departure in a Friday morning news release.
McManus was hired as chief in early 2006 after stints as chief of police for the Minneapolis Police Department, chief of police for the Dayton Police Department in Ohio, and assistant chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. — the department where he started his law enforcement career in 1975.
He left SAPD for nine months in 2015 for a job as CPS Energy’s senior director of security but was rehired in October of that year to take the reins back from Interim Chief Anthony Treviño, his former deputy chief.
Through her spokesperson, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones reacted to McManus’ announcement.
“The City of San Antonio is grateful for Chief McManus’ many years of service, and I appreciate his decades long commitment to keeping San Antonio safe,” Jones said in a statement.
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Jones in recent months has repeatedly refused to publicly back McManus and city officials have taken steps to block the release of information related to the mayor’s communication with city leaders about the chief.
The San Antonio Police Officers Association, which is scheduled to begin negotiations with the city on a new collective bargaining agreement later this year, weighed whether to hold a vote of no confidence on the chief before SAPOA leadership ultimately decided against it.
The push for the vote came after three SAPD officers were found not guilty in November for the 2023 shooting death of Melissa Perez.
Fellow officers had criticized McManus for what they described as a rush to criminally charge the officers in the controversial shooting case.
McManus’ tenure in San Antonio will last just under 20 years.
That length of tenure is largely unprecedented for a chief in a major U.S. city.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
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