THE THIN BLUE LINE
A San Antonio police officer who shot and wounded a teenager Sunday in a McDonald’s parking lot has been fired after newly released body-cam footage appeared to contradict the cop’s initial report, MySA reports.
SAPD rookie James Brennand initially said he fired his weapon after the teen struck him with his vehicle, according to police reports obtained by MySA. However, in body-cam footage posted by the department, it appears the teen — who’s recovering in hospital — never struck the officer. Brennand, a probationary officer with seven months on the force, was at a McDonald’s in the 11700 block of Blanco Road for an unrelated call when he thought he recognized a vehicle in the parking lot that allegedly evaded him during a pursuit the night before, according to MySA.
As Erik Cantu, 17, and an unnamed 17-year-old female passenger sat in the parked car, eating their McDonald’s, Brennand swung the driver’s door open and demanded Cantu “Get out of the car.” Startled, with a mouth full of food and a gun in his face, the teen asked, “Why?”
Cantu’s car stopped down the road, he was taken to University Hospital. He was in critical condition.
