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Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones complained to top city officials about then-Police Chief William McManus “lackadaisical response” when details of her police protection were made public.<\/p>\n
Katina Zentz\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
City Manager Erik Walsh, left, and then-Police Chief William McManus listen to Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones speak during a Town Hall event held at Adams Hill Elementary School, which Jones attended as a child.<\/p>\n
Robin Jerstad<\/p>\n
Then-Police Chief William McManus, second from left, greets well-wishers at Sanchez Ice House 1 in San Antonio.<\/p>\n
Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Then-Police Chief William McManus attends a city council meeting on Jan. 22, 2026, to discuss the police department’s relations with federal immigration agencies.<\/p>\n
Andrew J. Whitaker\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Three months before San Antonio Police Chief William McManus announced his retirement<\/a>, Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones privately told top city officials she had \u201cno confidence in his ability to lead\u201d after information about her police security detail was leaked to the media.<\/p>\n Jones never publicly voiced her criticism of McManus. The Oct. 3 email in which she attacked his leadership was obtained by the San Antonio Express-News under the state\u2019s open records law, along with related messages. They have not previously been reported.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Jones was reacting to\u00a0an Oct. 2 KSAT report<\/a> that disclosed details of security measures at her home, including the number of San Antonio Police Department officers assigned and where they were stationed.<\/p>\n In an email the next day to City Manager Erik Walsh, City Attorney Andy Segovia and other top officials, the mayor wrote that she was irked by the leak and by what she called McManus\u2019 \u201clackadaisical response\u201d when she reached out to him about it.<\/p>\n Jones wrote that when she called McManus on Oct. 2 to ask if he had seen the\u00a0KSAT report, he replied, \u201cYeah, I did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat was his full response,\u201d Jones wrote. \u201cNothing further to elaborate the steps he was taking to mitigate the resulting risks, nothing re next steps he would be taking to hold folks accountable. Nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n She said she told McManus, “Well, I’m a bit surprised you didn’t at least give me a call.” She said he gave no response.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven the heightened threats against elected officials, especially women\/LGBTQ+, and the several threats against me already, the Chief\u2019s response was woefully inadequate and leaves me with no confidence in his ability to lead,” Jones wrote.<\/p>\n Walsh emailed back that\u00a0he was \u201cdisappointed and concerned with the breach of security information,\u201d and that McManus had launched an internal affairs investigation. Walsh defended the chief, writing: \u201cI\u2019m confident in his leadership abilities. Every day we strive to improve and we\u2019ll learn from this serious situation.\u201d<\/p>\n City Manager Erik Walsh and then-Police Chief William\u00a0McManus share a light moment during a City Council meeting on Sept. 18, 2025.<\/p>\n Josie Norris\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n ‘Stand by my record’<\/p>\n On Jan. 16, McManus, 74, announced he would step down in September<\/a> after nearly 20 years in the job, the longest tenure of any San Antonio police chief. He later moved up his retirement date<\/a> and left SAPD on July 10 to become vice president of safety and security for Silver Ventures, developer and owner of the Pearl dining and entertainment district.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n On Friday, McManus told the Express-News that, contrary to Jones’ impression, he took the security leak seriously from the beginning and acted accordingly. “My responsibility as chief was to evaluate the facts, assess any actual risk and respond appropriately. That\u2019s exactly what I did,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n As for the mayor’s stated lack of confidence in him, McManus said: \u201cI don\u2019t measure my career based on any one person\u2019s opinion. Everyone is entitled to make their own assessments. I\u2019ll stand by my record over the last 20 years.\u201d He added that his relationship with Jones was \u201cprofessional and respectful … on the few occasions we met.\u201d<\/p>\n Questions had lingered about the timing of McManus\u2019 retirement. An Express-News reporter working on a profile of the chief spent considerable time with him late last year, on and off duty, and he said then that he was healthy and had no retirement date in mind. Those closest to him at\u00a0SAPD thought he would never leave the job voluntarily.<\/p>\n McManus said on Friday that the mayor\u2019s dissatisfaction with his handling of the security leak had played no role in his decision to retire. \u201cNo chief serves forever, and I wanted to leave while I still had the enthusiasm to pursue something new,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n He said he advanced his departure date because he \u201cwas fortunate to receive an outstanding opportunity in the private sector, and the timing worked well. Moving my retirement up gave me a chance to decompress before beginning my next role.\u201d<\/p>\n Walsh told the Express-News he took no disciplinary action against McManus over the security leak, despite Jones’ complaint. Under San Antonio\u2019s form of government, the police chief reports to the city manager, not to the elected mayor or city council.<\/p>\n \u201cI had the utmost confidence in the chief,\u201d Walsh said, adding that Jones never asked him to remove McManus.<\/p>\n The mayor did not respond to a request for comment for this article.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n ‘A serious threat to the safety of the mayor’<\/p>\n The disclosure of information about her home security arrangements was of special concern to Jones because she is the city\u2019s first openly lesbian mayor and holds the office at a time of intense political polarization, when elected officials across the U.S. face an elevated risk of violence.<\/p>\n In August, a San Antonio man was arrested and charged with making an online threat<\/a> to kill Jones because she wanted to slow down approval of public financing for a new downtown basketball arena for the Spurs.<\/p>\n Marcos Rene Olvera, then 24, was charged with obstruction or retaliation, a third-degree felony related to threatening a public servant. Prosecutors later dropped the charge<\/a>, citing \u201cinsufficient evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n After KSAT revealed details of Jones\u2019 security arrangements, gleaned from an internal\u00a0SAPD document titled\u00a0\u201cMayor Jones Residence Post Orders,\u201d McManus publicly condemned the disclosure, telling Texas Public Radio<\/a> it posed \u201ca serious threat to the safety of the mayor, her security team and the integrity of our protective operations.\u201d<\/p>\n “Protecting the public\u2019s right to know must never come at the cost of compromising safety,” McManus said.<\/p>\n Safety was on Jones mind a month later, when she emailed Walsh on Nov. 11 to say she had learned about a forthcoming conference in Washington D.C. on \u201cexecutive protection\/best practices.\u201d She suggested the head of her security detail be sent to the meeting.<\/p>\n Walsh answered the same day that the Police Executive Research Forum had organized the session and that chiefs from around the country would be there. McManus and Deputy SAPD Chief Michelle Ramos were on their way, he wrote, adding, \u201cI\u2019m sure there will be an opportunity to garner helpful information when they return.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Walsh did not respond directly to Jones\u2019 suggestion that the head of her security unit attend as well.<\/p>\n The Express-News obtained these messages, too, under the state’s open records law.<\/p>\n ‘Unfounded accusations’<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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