SAN ANTONIO – District 10 City Councilman Marc Whyte held a public safety town hall Tuesday night at the Northeast Senior Center. Many residents in attendance voiced a variety of concerns and issues they had.
“I don’t feel safe in my neighborhood, in my home, the city in general,” resident Tom Caddell said.
“McAllister Park isn’t even safe; I walk in McAllister Park regularly, and there are homeless people in there,” resident John Walls said.
Residents brought up topics such as homelessness and illegal dumping, but the topic at the top of mind for many, and Councilman Marc Whyte, was shootings.
“We’ve got to get a handle on what’s going on around the city in terms of crime,” Whyte said.
The meeting comes less than a week since two officers were shot while responding to a domestic disturbance call and a string of shootings that left five officers hurt and three suspects dead in August and September.
“But in terms of the actual officers being shot, we’ve got a big problem down at our district attorney’s office, and it’s something that we have got to change,” Whyte said
The topic of repeat offenders being released is a hot-button issue for Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales and San Antonio police chief William McManus. Tuesday night, McManus said city and county officials are working together.
“I’m not going to bring up anything that they’re working on right now. We’ll talk about that at a later date, but they’re in the middle of identifying those issues and trying to come up with solutions,” McManus said.
Chief McManus tells KSAT that the subcommittee is working to find solutions, and he hopes to have a full report sometime in November. The team consists of personnel from SAPD, the Bexar County sheriff’s office, the DA’s office, and District judges.