S.A. Top Cop addresses Stonewall Democrats

San Antonio’s new Police Chief, William McManus, spoke before a standing room only crowd of GLBT citizens attending the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio meeting on June 19. Arriving at the meeting dressed like he just came off the jogging track in a pair of shorts, a tee shirt and baseball cap, it was clear that Chief McManus was not one to stand on ceremony. McManus’ speech was equally informal.

His initial anecdote described his days on the Washington, DC police force where he served as the department’s GLBT liaison. Through a series of chance meetings he became a friend of gay football player Dave Kopay and the two were eventually linked romantically in the local press. Even after he got married, newspapers continued to suggest that McManus was gay.

The Chief recounted the story in good humor and seemed very comfortable with his audience.The goal of McManus’ talk was to get his audience to get to know him. The Philadelphia native described his 23 years on the Washington, DC police force, his time as Police Chief in Dayton, Ohio and his two years as Chief in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Throughout his talk, it was clear that the Chief’s point of view was very different from the one that existed in the San Antonio Police force before his recent appointment.

He told the audience wanted to change the culture of the department where "lack of input" and "lack of action" are endemic.McManus addressed the most important concerns of the GLBT community during the question and answer session.

He told the audience that he did not endorse gay witch-hunts or the entrapment of gay men by undercover police. He was supportive of having GLBT speakers address police cadets during training and endorsed letting gay and lesbian police officers form a GLBT police association if they so desired. The Chief even offered his email address (wmcmanus@sa.gov).

"I’m out and about in the community and accessible," he told the group.One older gentleman in the audience rose to tell the Chief a heartbreaking story of how he no longer walks his dog down his street every evening because a neighbor has verbally abused him and repeatedly threatened to shoot him dead because he is gay.

Making matters worse, the police officers responding at the scene told him that it might be best if he stay inside his home to remain safe. The man said that it took seven months for the Police Department to respond to his formal complaint about the lack of action on his case.
McManus met with the man after the meeting and promised to look into the matter.All-in-all Police Chief McManus seemed to leave the Stonewall audience with a good impression, receiving a standing ovation at the end of his talk.

Bryan Gerard, the meeting’s moderator and co-chairman of the Stonewall Democrats of San Antonio, described the situation best when he told the group, "We’ve listened to what Chief McManus has had to say. It’s up to us to hold him to his word."

Reprinted with persmission from QSan Antonio Website hosted by Sam Sanchez.