McManus: San Antonio police ready to start cite and release, including for possession of small amount of pot

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus listens to Deputy City Manager Erik Walsh before City Council’s public safety committee on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018. McManus and Walsh provided an update Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019 on the implementation of a new $33 million Bexar County facility where newly arrested people are booked and processed. less San Antonio Police Chief William McManus listens to Deputy City Manager Erik Walsh before City Council’s public safety committee on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018. McManus and Walsh provided an update Tuesday, Jan. ... more Photo: Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News Photo: Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close McManus: San Antonio police ready to start cite and release, including for possession of small amount of pot 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

Since 2014, San Antonio police officers have made 30,626 arrests for some low-level misdeameanors like theft, graffiti and driving with a invalid license.

That is likely to change.

Police Chief William McManus said Tuesday that the department is ready to start a cite-and-release program for some misdemeanors, including possession of small amounts of marijuana. That could allow a person suspected of certain offenses to take a class, pay a fine and do community service instead of having an arrest on their record. It would also free up limited law enforcement resources.

“It will save officers a ton of time if they are allowed to cite and release versus arrest,” McManus said. “We are ready on the front end.”

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McManus said the police department has been in discussions with City Council members for over a year about the possibility of such a program. Ultimately, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office must finalize the policy for the program to be viable, McManus said.

On average, an officer spends 90 minutes processing such offenses, the department said. That translated to about 45,939 hours of officer time over the last four and a half years.

Bexar County District Attorney-Elect Joe Gonzales, who defeated the incumbent DA Nico LaHood in the primary and then won election this month, has said a cite-and-release program is one of his first priorities when he takes office Jan. 1.

“I want to go back in there and say ‘Look, we’re going to start from scratch,’” Gonzales said earlier this month. “We’re going to start anew. Let’s work together.’”

Emilie Eaton is a criminal justice reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton