San Antonio Officer James Brennand was fired after shooting Erik Cantu, 17, on Oct. 2 in a fast food restaurant parking lot.
In a video statement from police training commander Alyssa Campos, Brennand was fired after he shot and wounded a teenager who had been sitting in his car eating a hamburger. Brennand had responded to an unrelated disturbance at the fast-food restaurant when he saw Cantu inside the car, who had evaded him a day earlier, Campos said.
Source: The Indian Express (AP)
Brennand, who had been on the force for less than one year, violated his training and police procedures after approaching the car, Campos said. And, a Texas prosecutor said in a statement Friday that he has not seen enough evidence to file charges against the teenager.
“While Sunday’s shooting of an unarmed teenager by a then-San Antonio Police officer remains under investigation, the facts and evidence we have received so far led us to reject the charges against Erik Cantu for further investigation,” Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said.
“The officer abruptly opened the driver’s door and ordered the driver out of the car” before the arrival of backup officers that Brennand had requested, Campos said. In the officer’s body camera video, Cantu looks toward Brennand while holding a hamburger, then backs the car away, striking the officer with the open door.
Brennand then opened fire several times as the door closed and Cantu drove away. Cantu was hospitalized in stable condition and initially charged with evading police and aggravated assault.
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