ANANDA TOMAS

No other petitions against the San Antonio Justice Charter can be filed until after May's citywide election, the court also ruled.

Supporters of a San Antonio ballot initiative meant to decriminalize marijuana possession and abortion in the Alamo City say the city attorney’s public warnings about its enforceability are “unethical” and “immoral.”

Because the proposed charter amendment was the result of a successful petition, the city’s legal team said the city council had no choice but to put it on the ballot.Even so, three North Side councilmen made sure to leave council chambers rather than help pass it: Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8), Councilman John Courage (D9), and Councilman Clayton Perry (D10).

Despite pending legal issues, San Antonio City Council placed all six provisions of a police reform charter amendment on the May ballot.

The San Antonio Justice Charter has received more than enough signatures to be placed on the May 6 ballot.

If passed, the charter initiative would decriminalize marijuana and abortion in addition to banning police no-knock warrants.

The "San Antonio Justice Charter" has enough signatures to get on the ballot, but will it matter? The City Attorney claims most of the proposed changes aren't legal, and the city wouldn't try to enforce them, even if they were to pass.

Signatures on a petition requesting that the proposed City Charter amendment be added to the May 6 municipal ballot have yet to be verified.

The El Paso native has become highly regarded in the local progressive community — and you'll be seeing more of her in the fight for police reform.

The information in ACT 4 SA’s dashboard is compiled from open record requests, SAPD’s own website, and media reports and dates from 2010 until last summer, says Executive Director Ananda Tomas. The dashboard does not contain the original documents.

The dashboard — reportedly the first of its kind in Texas — is funded by the Urban Institute and Microsoft Justice Reform Initiative.

Images of a petition signatures delivery, 9-year-old Michael Jackson impersonator Emerson Kuhl and more make up the past week's top photos.

The City Clerk's office has 20 business days, until Feb. 8, to verify more than 38,000 signatures gathered on a petition.

If passed by voters, cannabis possession and abortion would both be decriminalized in San Antonio.

The San Antonio Justice Charter also would end the criminalization of abortion and codify bans on no-knock warrants and police chokeholds.

As of Tuesday, the coalition had collected more than 33,000 signatures and verified more than 18,000 of them so far on its own, making it likely the petition will meet the 20,000 signature threshold.

The petition would also let voters decide whether to decriminalize abortion, ban police chokeholds and prohibit no-knock warrants.

Progressive organizers are working to put criminal justice-related charter amendments on San Antonio's May or November ballot.

San Antonio activists are collecting signatures for a petition that would let local voters decide whether to decriminalize pot and abortions as well as ban police choke holds and no-knock warrants.

San Antonio activists are hoping to put charter amendments decriminalizing cannabis on the May 2023 ballot.

Local activist group ACT4SA seek over 20,000 signatures to put police reform, marijuana decriminalization, abortion rights on the ballot.

The petition needs at least 20,000 signatures by January to get the proposed charter amendments on the May 2023 ballot.

Decriminalizing abortion and marijuana possession are the centerpieces of the 13-page “San Antonio Justice Charter Initiative," but the proposed charter amendment would also expand existing San Antonio Police policies and make them permanent - such as the cite-and-release program, and bans on choke holds and no-knock warrants.

The proposed charter amendment would allow San Antonio voters to decriminalize marijuana, abortion, no-knock warrants and chokeholds.

The rally underscored the ongoing tension between the promise and reality of body cam footage in clarifying what happens when law enforcement kills someone.

Amid criticism that his department operates under a veil of secrecy and refuses to adopt reform measures, VIA Transit Police Chief Mark Witherell said the agency will not create a critical incident video release policy or outright ban the use of chokeholds.

The five-year pact would rein in an arbitrator's ability to override the chief's decision to fire bad officers while providing hefty raises over the course of the contract.

Sheriff Javier Salazar said there is precedent for taking a family's wishes into account on releasing video, and he plans to keep that within BCSO policy.

Officers will get slightly larger wage increases while the city scored wins on firings and changes to the statute of limitations rule.

As the contract is one step closer to being ratified, San Antonio Police Officers Association and Act 4 SA are weighing in on the changes.

A major change was announced Monday for the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office as part of the collective bargaining agreement -- no more arbitration, and the deputy discipline and appeals process is changing significantly.

A request filed by Councilman Manny Pelaez (D8) for city staff to consider a cite-and-release program for marijuana possession did not satisfy some advocates who seek to include other misdemeanors.

Having failed to keep police out of a new mental health response team the City of San Antonio will try out beginning next spring, activists want the city to at least give a civilian-centric model a try, too.

San Antonio police officers accused of violating the department’s body-worn camera policy are rarely suspended, a months-long investigation by the KSAT 12 Defenders found.

The ballot measure to strip San Antonio police officers of their collective bargaining power fell short by 3,475 votes - a 2.3 percent margin. To Fix SAPD, the group that circulated the petition to get the issue onto the ballot, that slim defeat shows “the community is ready for change.”

In Saturday's citywide election, San Antonians narrowly rejected a proposition that would have stripped the city's police union of its collective bargaining power. With all...

San Antonio voters are just a day away from deciding the fate of a contentious ballot measure, Proposition B, and both sides are trying to make their last-minute cases to voters.

click to enlarge Courtesy Photo / Fix SAPDOpponents of Fix SAPD's petition drive hold up signs at a polling site where volunteers collected signatures last fall. The measure will appear on the May 1 ballot.Earlier this month, longtime East Side activist and former city councilman Mario Salas asked the FBI to look into allegations Fix SAPD volunteers faced harassment from union supporters while they approached voters. represent Fix SAPD and the way that we work or speak to our community." But Tomas said that both petitioners and voters felt intimidated by SAPOA volunteers and recruits. He added that supporters of Fix SAPD — the group backing the ballot measure — "enoughabilityHowever, Diaz said Fix SAPD, not the union, engaged in intimidation.

Jaime MonzonBlack Lives Matter protesters march in downtown San Antonio last June. San Antonio's police union on Tuesday doubled down on claims that a local ballot initiative aimed at scaling back its power to bargain for a new labor contract amounts to "defunding the police. It has no sway over the budget of SAPD or any other law enforcement agency. The groups say the union should negotiate for pay and benefits via a meet-and-confer process used by Dallas and other cities. Around two-thirds of San Antonio Police Department officers fired during the past decade were reinstated after arbitration hearings guaranteed under the union's current contract.

SAPOA President Danny Diaz accused Fix SAPD — the organization that spearheaded the movement behind Prop B — of lying to the voters about the true intentions of the proposal. “These organizations work on a wealth of issues from fixing police contracts to supporting candidates for some of them, district attorney reform, mobilizing black voters, aiding refugee and immigrant families. But Diaz said the repeal amounts to defunding by taking away their seat at the bargaining table. Diaz also invited Alonzio Hardin, the president of the San Antonio Black Police Officers Coalition, to speak. AdREAD MORE: Protections for police officers accused of misconduct in San Antonio

The May killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police sparked international protests, including weeks of demonstrations in San Antonio. Just yelling, yelling in their faces,” said Fix SAPD Deputy Director Ananda Tomas, who added that it was far from an isolated incident. It impacts us in a great way when we have a bully that just will not let San Antonio be, will not let San Antonio speak.”Ad“(SAPOA is) a club. Back SA Blue social media accounts have used pictures of Fix SAPD petitioners in many of their posts. Martin said any repeal measures pushed by Fix SAPD would only apply to SAPD, and not to other first responders in San Antonio.

The chief has been vocal in his opposition to the current union contract and how it cuts into his ability to discipline officers. The current contract expires after September but could be temporarily extended if a new agreement isn’t reached by then. Chief McManus said late last year that the current contract and state laws “protect bad officers” in an interview with KSAT. When asked about Monday’s joint press conference, City Manager Erik Walsh said the following a statement:“The key message from the press conference is that both SAPOA and the City of San Antonio are looking to improve the working relationship for the benefit of the community. Police accountability and transparency remains the top priority for the City in both the Collective Bargaining Agreement and upcoming Texas Legislative Session.