Bodycam footage showing San Antonio Councilman Marc Whyte during a traffic stop for an DWI
By: Less than two weeks after he was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated — and just a day after seemingly announcing his bid to continue in his role on the San Antonio City Council — District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte was kicked off council committees by Mayor Ron Nirenberg Thursday, according to a memo sent out from the mayor’s office. While Whyte has yet to be indicted on his December charge, bodycam footage of the traffic stop and sobriety test was released Thursday.
“In the wake of recent events involving District 10 Councilmember Marc Whyte, I am calling a special meeting of the City Council to consider a censure of the Councilmember,” Nirenberg’s formal memo, which was issued Thursday, reads. “In addition, effective today, I am suspending Councilmember Whyte from Council committee assignments until further notice or until more details of the incident are shown.”
While City Council is slated to further discuss Whyte’s future Sunday, January 14, during a special meeting, he’s now been removed from the city's Audit, Economic and Workforce Development, and Public Safety committees.
While Whyte has been relieved of such duties, he made it clear in a formal statement shared just one day before his committee ousting that he had no intention of giving up his elected seat.
“Over the past couple of days, I have reflected on the implications of the decisions made on the evening of December 29, 2023,” Whyte wrote in a statement shared on X. “I apologize to the residents of District 10, my family, friends, Council colleagues, and anyone else who I have let down. While I did not feel intoxicated, I should not have made the decision to drive myself home, and I take full responsibility for my actions.”
Around 11 p.m. Saturday, December 29, Whyte was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after reportedly having a night out with two other councilmembers, one of which he drove home. According to a warrant for Whyte’s blood signed by a Bexar County Judge in the early hours of December 30, San Antonio Police Department Officer D. McCroy pulled over Whyte for speeding — allegedly going 80 mph in a 65 mph zone along Loop 410 near the intersection with U.S. 281 — and because he was swerving within his lane. Further, McCroy accuses Whyte of failing to use his blinker when changing lanes.
“[Whyte] continued to drift back and forth inside his lane,” the warrant for Whyte’s blood reads. “[Whyte] then crossed over the dashed white line of his lane, and, once he was partially into the lane, he turned his signal on.”
When Whyte was stopped, McCroy described the councilman as having glossy, red eyes and says he could smell a “strong odor of intoxicants” radiating from Whyte’s breath. White confirmed he had beers at El Mirasol, Myron’s Prime Steakhouse, and Thirsty Horse Saloon. While Whyte maintains he didn’t feel intoxicated at the time, both during the exchange with McCroy and in his recent public statement, a judge signed a warrant to draw blood from Whyte to test for his level of intoxication.
Although Whyte is already facing consequences for his alleged crimes, local defense attorney Shannon Locke says the public shouldn’t be so quick to convict, detailing the varying ways the charges against Whyte could be dismantled in court.
“City Councilman Marc Whyte was arrested for DWI over the weekend, and people are already rushing to judgement,” Locke said in a TikTok he shared shortly after news broke of Whyte’s arrest. “ I think that’s a mistake, and here’s why: First, the first question that a DWI lawyer’s going to ask about any DWI arrest is whether or not the arrest or pull over was justified. Weaving within your lane and failing to signal, those by themselves, aren’t really enough to justify a pull-over.”
While Locke admits that speeding, which Whyte is accused of, is enough to pull someone over, the defense attorney says it’s not something an officer can use to justify a DWI investigation. Further, he says prosecutors will have to prove there was enough evidence of Whyte’s intoxication to have justified the blood draw warrant, which is something he says hasn’t been proven quite yet based on what information is out there.