San Antonio Poilice Chief William McManus is seen during a news conference last year. McManus recently had his vehicle broken into.
San Antonio Express-News
Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News
Not long after a burglar broke into Police Chief William McManus’ SUV earlier this month, Joe Calvey took to the airways.
The president of Mother’s Window Tint took out a series of radio advertisements on a dozen radio stations in San Antonio and Austin, saying: "Hello, Chief McManus of the San Antonio Police Department, this is Joe Calvey, president of Mother's Window Tint. We would like to offer you a discount on a car alarm. We heard your vehicle got broken into."
Calvey told the Express-News that he wasn’t making fun of McManus, who had a ballistic vest stolen from his vehicle parked outside his Monte Vista home on Feb. 2. He also said he wasn't trying to be funny and was simply warning people that if it can happen to the chief of police, it can happen to anyone.
“It was just an ad to put that word out,” Calvey said. “We really were not trying to create a stir or make a fuss and definitely not poking fun at the chief.”
The advertisement didn't create much of a buzz online. However, it did pique the interest of Jordan Elder, an investigative reporter for News 4 San Antonio. Shortly after Elder heard the advertisement, she tweeted: “Mother’s Window Tint is too quick with it. My jaw was on the floor.”
But the advertisement shouldn’t come as a surprise to longtime San Antonians. Calvey has been writing and producing radio ads for Mother’s Window Tint for nearly 40 years. Most are quirky, and when something happens in the Alamo City, Calvey is quick to record it on his iPhone and send it out to radio stations across San Antonio and Austin.
Calvey said he is a longtime supporter of local law enforcement and has worked on vehicles for multiple local and state agencies. Employees of the company have served on numerous civic boards and have received awards for their civic involvement from the likes of the San Antonio Police Department and even then-Gov. George W. Bush.
In the advertisement, which has recently been replaced by a snappy ad about the San Antonio Rodeo, Calvey says that he hopes someone calls Crimestoppers and that McManus gets his belongings back.
For Calvey, the ad “highlights the fact that if someone you might consider almost to be untouchable, like the chief of police, can have their car burglarized right outside their home, it can happen to anybody.”
timothy.fanning@express-news.net