For the first time in two decades, an Alamo City native will lead the San Antonio Police Department.
The mayor and City Council voted unanimously to confirm City Manager Erik Walsh’s appointment of Jesus “Jesse” Salame Jr. as police chief. That confirmation was expected, but heading into Thursday’s council meeting it was unclear whether Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones would approve Walsh’s selection.
Relatives of Jesse Salame Jr. stand to be recognized during his confirmation as San Antonio’s new police chief.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
The City Council chamber erupts in applause after Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones and council members unanimously confirm Jesse Salame Jr. as San Antonio’s new police chief on Thursday.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
Jesse Salame Jr. is sworn in as San Antonio’s new police chief on Thursday.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
Jesse Salame returns to the City Council chambers after being confirmed as San Antonio’s new police chief.
Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News
Jones was absent from the news conference announcing Salame’s appointment last week, which eight of the 10 council members attended.
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But the mayor told Salame on Thursday that she “looked forward to confirming” his appointment after having met with him to discuss his priorities, approach to officer accountability and discipline, among other issues.
“I know there’s got to be a personal point of pride in the department to see somebody that has come through the ranks this far and is now on the precipice of being confirmed,” Jones said.
Salame, 50, is a 27-year veteran of the department and former chief of staff to then-Police Chief William “Bill” McManus, who had led the SAPD since 2006. McManus had come from Minneapolis and spent much of his career in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department.
Walsh tapped Salame to serve as acting chief when McManus bumped up his retirement from late September to July 10. At the time, Salame was an assistant chief, the second highest rank in the SAPD.
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Salame grew up in Central San Antonio’s Los Angeles Heights neighborhood and is an Edison High School alum. His interest in policing was piqued while taking a criminal justice course at San Antonio College.
He will be just the third Hispanic chief in department history.
“I grew up in this city, I grew up in this department, and I know what’s at stake,” Salame told the council.
More than a dozen of his family members, including his parents, wife, sons and siblings, were present for the confirmation vote. He received a standing ovation after the council made it official. He was sworn in immediately after the vote.
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District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo noted that Salame is “San Antone to the bone,” and said his hiring will send a powerful message to public school students across the city.
District 4 Councilman Edward Mungia joked that he was glad that Salame doesn’t have an X account — a jab at McManus’ recent activity on the social media platform in which he shared fabricated quotes about the dangers of the U.S. being taken over by communism.
New police contract
A subsequent vote Thursday to approve a new, three-year employment contract with the police union was almost unanimously approved, with only District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez voting against it.
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The East Side representative didn’t comment on his position, but he previously raised concerns about the high cost of the contract during a tight budget cycle in which the city faces a multimillion-dollar deficit.
The contract takes effect Oct. 1 and gives officers a cumulative base pay increase of 16.5% over three years. It will cost the city $102.3 million — about $10 million more than initially anticipated, Walsh said.
The higher cost won’t hurt other city departments though, Walsh said, since it was made possible by new revenue and cuts to the police department budget. That “more than made up for” the contract total, the city manager said.
The city’s proposed $4.4 billion budget for fiscal year 2027 carves out almost $677 million for the police department. Though a 7% increase over last year’s allotment, it includes $5.4 million in reductions, including cuts to overtime, six civilian support staff and a notification system that updates residents on criminal investigations. The department expects to save money by switching many paper citations to electronic versions.
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Union members will have to pay higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs under the new contract as a result of the city exceeding its employee healthcare budget by more than $40 million this fiscal year. The cost overrun is largely because city workers, including many police officers, opted to visit costly out-of-network freestanding emergency rooms for services.
City negotiators didn’t propose any significant changes to how officers are disciplined for misconduct, which was a major focus of the previous contract negotiation, which wrapped up in 2022.