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| Photo Credit: AP. |
(AP) - A Texas police officer who shot and wounded a teenager who had been sitting in his car eating a hamburger has been fired, police said.
San Antonio
Officer James Brennand was fired after shooting Erik Cantu, 17, on Oct. 2 in a
fast food restaurant parking lot, police training commander Alyssa Campos said
in a video statement released Wednesday.
Brennand had
responded to an unrelated disturbance at the fast-food restaurant when he saw
the Cantu inside the car, which had evaded him a day earlier, Campos said.
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.
Brennand,
who had been on the force for less than one year, violated his training and police
procedures after approaching the car, Campos 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.
Cantu, in
the officer’s body camera video, 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, who
was struck by gunfire, stopped nearby where he and a passenger, who was not injured,
were found by police.
“There is
nothing I can say in defense of that officer’s actions that night,” Police
Chief William McManus told WOAI-TV. “I think what happened, initially, there
was some contact made, but that did not justify the shooting.”
Cantu was
hospitalized in stable condition and initially charged with evading police and
aggravated assault.
Gonzales,
the district attorney, said no decision had been made on whether to pursue
charges against Brennand, pending the outcome of a police investigation into
the shooting.
“As we do with all officer-involved shootings
that result in death or serious injury, we will submit the case to a Grand Jury
for their consideration. Until that happens, we can make no further comment on
this matter,” Gonzales said.
Police and
an attorney for Cantu did not immediately return phone calls for comment on
Friday.