SAN ANTONIO (AP) – A fired San Antonio police officer has released bail and been released after being charged with shooting a teenager while the boy was eating a hamburger in a car.
James Brennand deposited $200,000 in bonds after he turned himself in on Tuesday night for two counts of aggravated assault by an official in the Oct. 2 shooting of 17-year-old Erik Cantu, who his family believes survived. Prison records showed that he did not have a lawyer at the time of his release.
Brennand, a 27-year-old rookie officer, reported that the vehicle Cantu was in had evaded him during an attempted traffic stop the night before. Brennand said he suspected the car had been stolen.
On body camera images released by the police, Brennand opens the car door and tells Cantu to get out. The car reverses with the door open and the officer fires the vehicle multiple times. He keeps firing as the car drives away.
Brennand faces two charges for having a passenger in the car. The passenger was unharmed.
Investigators quickly determined that the use of deadly force was unjustified and Brennand was fired. Charges against Cantu of aggravated assault and evasion of arrest were dropped. License plates did not match the vehicle Cantu was driving, although the car itself had not been stolen, said Officer Ricardo Guzman, a police spokesman.
Cantu remained in hospital in critical condition on Wednesday.
“Erik is still on a ventilator and unresponsive, but his oxygen levels are showing an improvement. We are patient and optimistic that better health is on the way,” the family said in a statement from attorney Brian Powers. “Please keep Erik in your thoughts and prayers.”
