SAN ANTONIO — At a District 10 community forum where the topic turned to crime prevention, Police Chief William McManus spoke with conviction, telling the crowd that bail bond reform is long overdue in Texas.
Speaking in the aftermath of a Stone Oak incident that left seven SAPD officers with gunshot wounds, McManus said it’s time to give magistrates the option of detaining people under certain limited conditions.
“One of the things I’ve talked about over and over and over again and gotten into heated arguments with different organizations in the criminal justice system is why do so many people get out on multiple bonds and then wind up shooting police officers as well as citizens?” McManus said.
Explaining that his team has been studying possible solutions since 2020, McManus said they looked at criminal histories of a number of people who were involved in attacks on police.
McManus said the goal was to see how many of them were out of jail on multiple bonds or deferred adjudication.
“The explanation – I call it an excuse – but the explanation that I get is that everybody according to the Texas Constitution is entitled to a bond or a bail,” McManus said.
He told the crowd the Texas Constitution already allows those convicted of a capital crime and those with a record of continuous felony offenses to be detained.
“So why is it that magistrates continue to put these folks out on bond, on bail, deferred adjudication and that sort of thing?” McManus asked. “I can’t tell you how angry that makes me.”
The Texas Constitution should be amended, according to McManus said.
“Instead of saying everyone is guaranteed a bond, or is eligible for bond, it should say everyone should be considered or could be considered for a bond – not that they should have it,” McManus said.
“You have all these folks who are out there continuing to commit felonies. They’re shooting police officers. They’re shooting citizens during crimes they commit. They’re on multiple bonds and it makes me sick to my stomach when we look at the records of these individuals who are still out there,” McManus told the group, adding “This is a big problem for me. A big problem for the department. A big problem for all law enforcement!”
Expressing his frustration, McManus concluded his remarks by saying, “That’s my rant on people who are out on bond and shouldn’t be. If they were locked up awaiting trial, they wouldn’t be continuing to commit criminal offenses.”
It’s an idea that’s come up before. In 2023, after a series of violent attacks on police here, there was a legislative push for reform, but the proposed changes didn’t make it into the Constitution.
But now, the largest police rank and file labor group in the state – CLEAT – Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, agrees.
They say they will be pushing for these changes in this legislative session.
More information about Senate Joint Resolution 17 can be found here.
More information about the CLEAT initiative can be found here.