San Antonio police union approves new contract that includes stronger disciplinary provisions, hefty raises

San Antonio police on Tuesday approved a new union contract that would make it harder for fired officers to get their jobs back but would include hefty pay raises over the next four years.

The agreement would increase the pay of San Antonio Police Department officers by roughly 16% through Sept. 30, 2026. However, it would also include new city-backed provisions aimed at increasing officer accountability and giving the chief more authority to sack problem officers.

The city and the San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA) spent more than a year hammering out provisions for the new contract, which now heads to city council for approval.

"This contract approval is the result of the hard work of our Contract Negotiation Team and city leadership focusing on delivering a fair contract to police officers that protects their pay and benefits and recognizes the uniquely challenging job of law enforcement," SAPOA President Danny Diaz said in a statement posted on the union's website.

In a separate statement, Mayor Ron Nirenberg called the officers' approval a vote of confidence in the union's new leadership. The negotiations took place after the retirement of former union chief Mike Helle, who led the association through one of its ugliest bareknuckle contract fights with the city.

"It is a fair contract that addresses concerns about disciplinary procedures and provides our officers with fair compensation and benefits," Nirenberg said.

Talks for the new agreement came as police-accountability activists forced a public vote whether to strip SAPOA of its collective bargaining power. Though defeated on a 2% margin, the narrow miss showed that nearly half of San Antonio voters had significant concerns about police abuse of power.

The contract's new provisions would make it more difficult for an arbitrator to overturn the firing of an officer accused of a severe infraction. The chief will also have a longer window of time in which to discipline an officer and would be able to go back further in an officer's record when making disciplinary decisions.

Even so, police-reform  group Act 4 SA wants more oversight changes, including the creation of an independent office of civilian oversight, better protections for people who file complaints against problem officers and rules preventing suspended cops from using vacation time for reducing their unpaid suspensions.

In a statement posted on its website, Act 4 SA said it remains disappointed the city didn't require the new contract to include an independent review board, noting that of Texas' five largest cities, San Antonio is the only one that lacks such a body.

"It should be made clear that further reform is still needed," the group added. "We cannot negotiate our safety, and we will not stop until our communities are protected from law enforcement officers who escape accountability."

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