SAN ANTONIO – The City of San Antonio will add 50 more police officers to its department over the next three years thanks to a multimillion-dollar federal grant.
The grant of $6.25 million was awarded by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), according to a news release.
On Monday, SAPD Chief William McManus and Rep. Tony Gonzales will discuss the public safety initiative during a press conference.
The press conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. and it will be livestreamed in this article. Delays are possible; if there is not a livestream available, check back at a later time.
San Antonio was one of four cities chosen to receive the grant — Houston, Detroit and Cincinnati are the other three recipients.
“Public safety is a priority of the community and City Council; we have a goal of adding 360 police officers over the next three to five years and this grant award will help us achieve that goal,” said City Manager Erik Walsh in a statement. “I want to thank our Federal Legislative Delegation for their efforts to advocate for our community’s needs. We are looking forward to welcoming these new officers to the San Antonio Police Department.”
San Antonio’s Fiscal Year 2024 budget was adopted in September and will add 117 new police officer positions to the San Antonio Police Department, city officials said. The grant will help pay for 50 of the new police officer positions.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said the grant funds will also allow for improved relationships with the community and “proactive policing.”
“The San Antonio Police Department is excited to have been awarded this hiring grant by the Department of Justice,” said McManus. “This grant will pay for half of the 100 new officer positions that City Council approved in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, allowing our officers more time to do proactive policing and build relationships and trust with the community we serve.”
City officials said in a news release that they believe the grant will help improve call response times and could help “address community needs and concerns through traditional policing.”
This is the fifth time that San Antonio has received the COPS grant, according to city officials.
Shared below are the other COPS grants the city has received, dating back to 2010:
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Fiscal Year 2010: 50 officers to enhance patrol services
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Fiscal Year 2016: Four officers to augment the Mental Health Unit
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Fiscal Year 2018: 25 officers to address violent gun crime
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Fiscal Year 2020: 25 officers to address domestic violence
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