Public Safety Committee Meeting Summary - May 28, 2026
Public Safety Committee Meeting Summary
The Public Safety Committee convened on May 28, 2026, at 2:08 PM, with Chair Corps presiding and a quorum present. The agenda included approval of prior minutes, a briefing on Animal Care Services (ACS) performance metrics and dangerous dog/cruelty case processes, and a briefing on the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) patrol staffing plan. Public comments highlighted gaps in victim support and enforcement. The meeting adjourned at 3:55 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the April 21, 2026 Public Safety Committee meeting were approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Kathy Vale (District 1 resident): Described a traumatic dog attack on Good Friday 2026 that resulted in her dog's death and her injuries. She praised initial emergency response but criticized the lack of a victim information sheet, insufficient public safety focus on the ACS website, and the absence of a monthly/quarterly district-level report for council members. She requested reinstatement of a public citizen position on the committee.
- Kelly Laporte: Asserted that ACS misrepresents data (e.g., 93% critical call response rate is manipulated) and fails to enforce dangerous dog laws, citing repeated court failures and a recent increase in serious bite injuries (over 50%). She called for better accountability and warned of continued fatalities.
Discussion Items
Animal Care Services (ACS) Performance & Dangerous Dog Process
- Presentation by John Gary (ACS Director) and Municipal Court Representative: Covered cruelty investigations (5 investigators), dangerous dog investigations (4 investigators), and the citation/court process. Year-to-date statistics (FY26, 7 months) included 898 notice of violations, 336 civil citations, 401 criminal citations, and 36 cruelty cases filed with the DA's office (surpassing prior year totals). Dangerous dog compliance rate was 82% (goal 80%), with 348 cases handled, 88 deemed dangerous, 68 aggressive, and 22 serious bodily injury (SBI) cases. The registry is available online by district.
- Councilmember McKee-Rodriguez pressed for resources: asked if ACS needs more officers, higher pay, or a second campus to address stray dog calls and kennel capacity. Director Gary acknowledged additional officers and adoption/medical staff would help.
- Councilmember Spears suggested a more prominent registry, higher mandatory insurance (e.g., $100,000) for dangerous dog owners, and collaboration with county and suburban cities. Gary noted $100,000 insurance is already required.
- Councilmember Castillo called for digitizing ACS citations (currently manual) and a strategic framework refresh for animal care services. Assistant City Manager David McCarey committed to developing a dashboard within 90 days and improving outcome alignment between ACS and municipal court.
- Councilmember Casillo asked for a flow chart tracking case lifecycle to better communicate with residents, and requested data on appeal rates and DA acceptance. Judge confirmed manual process and 30-day appearance timeline.
SAPD Patrol Staffing Plan
- Presentation by Assistant Chief Robert Blanton: Reviewed the 2023 workload study recommending 360 new patrol officers to achieve a 40% reactive / 60% proactive time split. Since then, 205 officers added, achieving a 50/50 split. Data shows a 13% drop in total crime, 37% drop in homicides, and 43% drop in car thefts. Benefits include enhanced crime prevention, targeted enforcement, and officer well-being. Staffing plan is data-driven using workload model; Houston and Albuquerque use similar models.
- Councilmember White: Expressed support for fully funding the remaining 155 officers, arguing that increased presence causes crime reduction and citing officer mental health benefits.
- Councilmember Spears: Supported the plan and requested substation-level response time data.
- Councilmember McKee-Rodriguez: Cautioned against assuming causation from correlation, noting other cities with more officers per capita have higher crime. She advocated for holistic crime prevention (e.g., environmental design, social services) and alternative response solutions to reduce officer workload.
- Councilmember Castillo: Asked for clarity on budget trade-offs (e.g., property tax increases or cuts to other departments) to fund additional officers.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Minutes approved.
- ACS Briefing: No action taken. Council directed ACS and municipal court to improve data tracking, develop a dashboard (within 90 days), digitize citations, and provide a case flow analysis for residents. A strategic framework refresh will be explored.
- SAPD Staffing Briefing: No action taken. Discussion will inform FY27 budget decisions. A follow-up on substation response times and peer city comparisons was requested.
- Next Meeting: Scheduled for June 2026 at the Family Violence Prevention Center shelter, with a shortened agenda including deferred item 5 and subcommittee reports.
Meeting Transcript
All right. The time is now 208 p.m. and we'll call this public safety committee meeting to order. Danielle, is that is that the is that her name? Destiny, sorry. Welcome. I know it's your second meeting as clerk for us, so thank you for being here. Would you please call roll? Councilmember McKee Rodriguez. Councilmember Casillo. Councilmember Spears. Here. Councilmember White. Chair Corps? Here. Chair, we have quorum. Thank you. Okay, first item on the agenda is the approval of minutes from the April 21st, 2026 public safety committee meeting. Are there any adjustments? And if not, I'll take a motion. You have a motion and a second? Motion and a second. Any other comments or feedback? Alright, all in favor? Any opposed? Okay, motion carries. The second item on the agenda is a briefing and possible action on the animal care services performance metrics for fiscal year 2026. And we do have a individual stand up for a public comment. Should we take public comment first? Sure, we can do that. Okay. Kathy Vale. Good afternoon, Chair Kerr, City Council members. Um I want to thank you for the opportunity to come before you, specifically my council member, Sukor, who has given me a lot of time and worked with me and personally invited me to be here to give public comment. I've left a copy there for you. It thrust me into my first experience with personal danger and public safety and trauma regarding dogs in San Antonio. I've never had any experience with it. Nobody I know in my family or my large circle of friends has ever experienced. So I am still learning, and I'm not going to uh read the op-ed, just give you a few highlights. Um I live in D1 in the Shearer Hills Ridgeview neighborhood on my childhood street, which was a reason why I bought that house six years ago. I lived as a little girl on that same street for 12 years. And it's a beautiful neighborhood. These are all homes that were built in the 1950s, clustered around the intersection of oblate and McCullough. And um I love living there. Um it was a dream come true. And on Good Friday, that dream was shattered for me. I um uh I was walking my dog home. We were two houses away from my home, and a dog that had been roped in the front yard, um, carelessly roped, broke free, jumped on me, bit me on my arm, knocked me to the ground, then went to my dog, picked up my nine-pound dog. That dog was a great Dane mix, huge. Picked up my nine-pound dog, threw him up in the air, he fell on the concrete driveway, his brain was damaged, his spine was damaged, his abdomen was punctured, and uh neighbors immediately came out, called 911.
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