Update at 5:45 pm: More than 50 members of the City’s executive team, City Council members, community leaders, and business leaders gathered on the steps of City Hall Thursday evening to show their support of San Antonio Police Chief William McManus after the police union released a “vote of no confidence” from its membership.
“The entire City Council as well as the mayor is unequivocally behind Chief McManus,” said Councilman and Mayor pro tem Rey Saldaña (D4).
Despite the late notice of the press conference, he was joined by Council members Roberto Treviño (D1), Mike Gallagher (D10), and Rebecca Viagran (D3) as well as McManus’ command staff, City department heads, assistant city managers, and City Manager Sheryl Sculley – all of whom cheered and applauded McManus as he arrived and throughout his remarks.
Council members cited McManus’ strong leadership and push for policy and training reform since he was recruited for the position 10 years ago this month.
The San Antonio Police Officers Association is “playing politics with public safety,” Viagran said.
Mayor Ivy Taylor was out of town, but issued a video statement (see below) Thursday morning.
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Every morning, 21-year-old Ciara Cardreon wakes up and is quickly reminded of her father’s death. As a way to cope, she often refers to a keepsake book she made in his honor, where she put a few photos, his obituary, and the flower she wore at his funeral.
“Everyday I just tell myself ‘I gotta get through it,’” she said.
Antronie Scott, a 36-year-old African-American man who was fatally shot by a San Antonio police officer, was not Cardreon’s biological father, but he raised her as though he was.
Officer John Lee responded to a call to arrest Scott on outstanding felony drug charges on Feb. 4. During the encounter, Lee, an 11-year veteran, shot Scott after mistaking a cell phone in Scott’s hands for a gun.
The shooting, and others, have inspired protests and outrage, but Cardreon just wants answers.
“I can be angry all I want, but it’s not going to bring the person that I love back,” she said. “I just don’t feel like if you have a gun that should give you the right to say whether somebody lives or dies.”
The shooting was just one of dozens of recent deadly encounters between African-Americans and police across the nation that have increased distrust and fear of law enforcement in local and national communities.
(Read more: At an Eastside Church, City Officials Find Only Fear, Anger and Frustration)
Adding to the turmoil of local outrage and discussion about how police officers treat men and women of color, Mayor Ivy Taylor defended Police Chief McManus’ decision to keep Officer Lee on administrative duty for further “training” instead of firing him. Meanwhile, the police union has called for McManus’ resignation after a “vote of no confidence” from union membership.
San Antonio Police Officers Association President Mike Helle told the Express-News that 97% of 1,944 voting members voted against McManus. The union has 2,164 members.
Helle did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.
McManus called the vote “illegitimate” becuase those numbers “don’t match” with what he sees on the streets from the rank and file. “SAPOA leadership (have led its members) down the wrong path.”
Yet another factor complicating matters is the City’s pending lawsuit against the 10-year evergreen clause in the union’s contract that has stalled contract negotiations. Helle has repeatedly said the union will not come back to the negotiating table until the lawsuit is dropped entirely.
(Read more: Mayor Offers ‘Olive Branch,’ Police Union Says ‘Absolutely Not’)
On March 1, McManus announced that Officer Lee faced termination as a consequence of his actions, which McManus described in a previous Rivard Report interview as “unnecessarily placing himself in a tactical situation wherein he felt compelled to use deadly force.”
Two weeks later, after personally meeting with Lee, McManus released a statement announcing he would not fire Lee, and instead recommended that he receive “additional training.” Lee remains on administrative duty as SAPD has turned over its internal investigation of the shooting to the Bexar County District Attorney’s office, where the case is still pending.
While McManus’ decision ignited disappointment and protest from some community members, Mayor Ivy Taylor has expressed her support for the Chief in a statement on March 15, and most recently in a public video statement released Thursday morning.
Firing Lee would not be appropriate, she stated, since the responsibility of Scott’s death was “shared” by Lee and the two detectives who were on the scene. The identities of the two detectives and details surrounding their involvement has been requested by the Rivard Report via an open records request with SAPD.
“While I am still deeply concerned about the case, I respect the chief’s willingness to do what he deems is right and not just what is politically expedient,” Taylor stated. “The District Attorney’s office is continuing their examination of the facts here, and the City leadership has no authority over that process – however should Officer Lee be indicted, then SAPD would take immediate and appropriate action.”
What would that “immediate and appropriate action” be?
According to SAPD spokesman Sgt. Jesse Salame, SAPD would “probably” move the indicted officer off of administrative duty and to indefinite suspension, pending further review and the outcome of the indictment and trial.
“We can’t have somebody working for us if they’re under indictment,” he said.
What kind of “additional training” Lee would have to take, Salame said, has not yet been finalized, but it would likely include “tactical or scenario-based” training focused on felony stops and apprehensions.
“That tactical training is incorporated annually in our inservice training, but we always try to look to ways to evolve it through using some different training strategies to try and mix it up so that we keep evolving,” Salame said.
The exact terms and the amount of training for Lee will be finalized once a decision by the District Attorney and a grand jury is made, he said, which could take one year or more.
McManus has been pushing for use-of-force reforms and an emphasis on community policing for months, especially since attending the Police Executive Research Forum in January.
(Read more: McManus Promotes Police Reforms Amid Community Discontent With Street Cops and After a Police Shooting, Mayor Taylor Convenes Community Leaders)
“Your City leadership has already decided to invest in body cameras to increase accountability,” Taylor said. “Reforms in training at the academy and for officers are already underway. Examining racial bias tendencies should be part of the new training methods. I am asking the City manager and police chief to determine how we can expand our community policing efforts.”
Such reforms are some of the main reasons for the union membership’s vote of no confidence and have made the contract negotiations even more contentious.
After her recent United State of the City Address, Taylor told the Rivard Report that if or when negotiations resume, they won’t be picking up where they left off in terms of contract details.
She agreed that there are elements in the police union contract that make it difficult for McManus to fire police officers. It’s also difficult for him to “promote those who he thinks are most qualified to be leadership.”
Those terms of the contract “will have to be” back on the table.
“We were more focused on the fiscal aspects before, but I believe we have to discuss those (other terms) now,” she said.
Prominent Eastside and African-American community leader Rev. James Amerson from St. Paul United Methodist Church is afraid of the negative effects these interactions between the neighborhood police officers has on the community.
“I am very concerned about all of these crime and homicides in east San Antonio, and across the country,” he said. “While Officer Lee may have responded in what he considers his best judgement, there is a ripple effect that does affect the community and how we view our officers.”
Amerson said he urged his parishioners to maintain a sense of understanding in such difficult times, as well as call on the city’s leadership to take measures to ensure safety and justice for all of San Antonio.
“As a leader, I’m not stirring up any pots saying we need to protest, but I do respect Chief McManus and am trusting (him) to be doing what is best in regards to justice issues. I think that Officer Lee needs to have that (additional) training, not as a mandate, but certainly as a recommendation from one leader to the police department.”
Scott’s daughter Cardreon grew up San Antonio but now lives with her mother in Mississippi where she works for a home healthcare agency. Though she believes Lee should have been fired, she said she forgives him. She can’t say the same for the rest of Scott’s children and family.
Amidst the countless news reports, community-wide protests, and statements from City officials concerning her dad’s case, all she wants people to know is what a great person he was, despite his criminal history and any other mistakes he had made throughout his life.
After recently earning a diploma from technical school and securing a steady job, Scott was “working on being a better father,” Cardreon said.
“People say ‘This is one less thug on the street,’ well it’s not that way, and they say that because they don’t know him,” she said. “Yes, he was a felon, yes, he made mistakes, but he loved his kids and he was such a family person, and it’s hard for people like (him) to bounce back because of their backgrounds.”
In her video statement, Taylor said that as far as debating racism in terms of this case, she won’t be “grandstanding to score political points.” Still, as an African American and a city leader, she is hoping to work toward a solution.
“I can tell you this: my goal is to restore and ensure that our San Antonio community trusts the officers who work to keep them safe and to ensure that our SAPD have the tools and training to do their jobs effectively,” she said. “We are one San Antonio and our fates are tied together. So let’s get to work on the solutions.”
*Rivard Report Managing Editor Iris Dimmick contributed to this report.
*Top image: Chief William McManus and San Antonio City Manager Sheryl Sculley embrace following his speech during the press conference. Photo by Scott Ball.
Related Stories:
Mayor Backs Police Chief’s Call to Keep Officer that Shot Antronie Scott
McManus: Officer Who Shot Unarmed Man Gets ‘Training,’ Not Punishment
San Antonio Police Officer Who Fatally Shot Unarmed Black Man Faces Termination
McManus Promotes Police Reforms Amid Community Discontent With Street Cops
thank you so much ! i hope a lot more people understand now
But isn’t the police force not ?
SAPOA doesn’t like the reforms and policies that McManus wants to implement for public safety; body cams, additional training, etc.
Ides of march???
Thank you Mayor!
City police are not about protecting and serving.
Proud of you mayor
I don’t understand why the union would vote “no confidence” in the chief – he didn’t fire the officer who shot Scott (who was, remember, unarmed). I guess the union thinks that any discipline at all is bad? Because it’s ok to go around shooting unarmed people willynilly without any accountability whatsoever?
Well written unbiased article on a very sensitive political issue.
How hard is it to comply with an officer. Don’t make sudden moves , do what your told to do. It only takes a split decision to make decision that may cost a life for the officer.., they ain’t gonna take a chance
Fair is fair. The 2,400 officers held a vote on confidence in the department leadership put in place by their employer, the 1.4 million citizens of San Antonio. Perhaps then, the 1.4 million citizens of San Antonio have the right to vote on confidence in Mike Helle, the union leader of the officers. While negotiating to protect one of the best police compensation packages in Texas, Mr. Helle has led a relentless, unsuccessful campaign to unseat somebody, seemingly anybody: the city manager, then the mayor, and now the police chief. All the while, he claims to worry over the “morale of the department”; unfortunately, morale will never be lower than when Mr. Helle’s unpleasant campaign causes the citizens of San Antonio to lose confidence in their uniform officers.
Were I able to express my confidence in Mr. Helle’s leadership, I would have to vote “No Confidence”.
If Ivy Taylor were a true leader she could settle this all in a day by calling Sculley and Helle into her office and tell them they’re not leaving until a deal is worked out. Instead she passes the the buck and just holds a press conference stating she has full confidence in Sculley to handle it because obviously she’s doing a wonderful job. This has become theatrics and grandstanding at its finest. I don’t care who you support, both sides are acting like babies and we need an adult to stand up to end this mess. Sadly for the citizens, it looks like we’ll have to wait until the next election before it’ll happen.
Mayor Taylor stated that she “will not allow” San Antonio’s story “to be that of the cities” in the U.S. that we “see on the national news”, torn apart by conflicts over police violence against unarmed black citizens. Who would disagree with her determination to address our own problems, but what’s the policy that will make San Antonio different from those other places?
In some of those other cities, government officials have acted to discipline and fire police officers found responsible for citizen deaths and in a few cases they have charged officers with murder. In San Antonio, nothing has happened so far in the case of the killing of Antronie Scott, an unarmed black man.
Justice requires that the particulars of each case matter, but the circumstances of this shooting death are clear from the official reports. Officer Lee violated Police Department rules for how to arrest a man wanted on felony warrants, which resulted in a death. Chief McManus carefully laid out the facts to community leaders, based on the official reports, and he signaled that he would suspend (and by implication fire) Lee. That seemed appropriate because a murder charge against a police officer has to overcome the Supreme Court’s standard that the officer’s reasonable assessment at the moment of shooting was wrong. Few have said that the officer’s assessment was unreasonable. But an officer’s actions that violate rules of engagement that in turn lead to death are serious mistakes in their own right. A human life was taken. City officials cannot abdicate accountability. But the Chief reversed course and canceled the suspension, instead simply requiring more training on the same rules for an officer who already has eleven years on the force. Worse, the police union, sensing a weakness in the city’s position, counter-attacked by calling for McManus to resign. Now San Antonio is in a mess. We’re not better than or different from other cities. In New York City, Mayor Bill De Blasio held firm against irresponsible police union leadership last year after Eric Garner was killed and when tensions boiled over after two police officers were gunned down.
San Antonio has grappled for many years with how to reform our policing and many incremental initiatives have been introduced by McManus with the support of elected officials. Yet, the City’s ill-conceived attack on the police union contract over health care costs has postponed the negotiations over new policing protocols and discipline. We need professional officers for our public safety. This should be a high standard; some officers will not be able to meet it and should be dismissed.
Steve–agreed with your point. However, there was an article Rivard posted that talked about how the current police contract makes it exceedingly difficult and expensive to fire policemen. The whole process was a lengthy paragraph and, to me, it explains why this officer is being put on desk duty. It’s hard to fault McManus when he is hamstrung by this police contract that does not allow him to do his job.
Helle’s getting way, way too big for his britches. He needs to go, and yesterday.
I’d be very curious to know what it would take to get rid of him. Who’s he accountable to? Anyone?