San Antonio appointed its temporary police chief, but could he also be the permanent one?
City Manager Erik Walsh tapped Assistant Chief Jesse Salame as acting San Antonio Police Chief on Wednesday after longtime SAPD Chief William McManus moved his planned retirement up by more than two months.
Salame is a 26-year veteran of the department will be at the helm until the next chief is chosen, likely in September.
McManus endorsed Salame to be his permanent successor, and Salame confirmed to KSAT he has applied for the job.
Salame said he was “extremely grateful” for McManus’s support and “would certainly hope” that being chosen as his temporary replacement means he’s on an early shortlist for the permanent job.
In the meantime, Salame said he feels like a “steward” of the department and doesn’t plan on any major changes or restructuring.
“If I was selected to do that, that’s the time to do all those things,” Salame said. “Again, my focus right now is really on just being that stable, steady leader that we need during this transition.”
Salame graduated from the SAPD academy in 1999 and has been a homicide detective, a spokesman for the department, chief of staff and has been an assistant chief overseeing the operations support bureau since November 2024.
For most of that time, Salame and the other 2,900 San Antonio Police officers have had the same chief: William McManus.
McManus was hired to lead SAPD in 2006, and apart from a nine-month period in 2015 leading security at CPS Energy, he has been at the head of the department.
McManus’ last day as chief is Friday, and he plans to become the vice-president of security for Silver Ventures, which manages the Pearl.
“It’s a transition for all of us,” Salame said. “A lot of departments go through this regularly, within three to five years. I think it’s just a little bit different for us because most of the officers on this department don’t know another — have never had another police chief.”
Though Salame declined to go into detail on what should change or stay the same with the next chief, he said “if something’s working, we will keep it.”
“Of course, I’ve got a lot of ideas,” Salame said. “We all have a lot ideas. But I would like input, not just from our officers, our professional staff, but from the community.”
The application window for the chief job closes Wednesday, July 15. The city anticipates conducting in-person interviews with candidates in August, with several panels that represent the community.
Though Walsh will be the one to actually appoint the next chief, the mayor and city council will vote to confirm his choice.
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