Officer Fired For Shooting Teen Eating Hamburger

It was late at night and Erik Cantu was in a McDonalds parking lot, eating a burger.

The 17-year-old and a female friend the same age were sitting in a car with the engine running on the evening of Oct. 2, in San Antonio, Texas, when suddenly his driver’s seat door was flung open.

“Get out of the car,” a police officer said.

As shocking police body camera footage showed, Cantu quickly put the car in reverse and began trying to drive away, his open door swinging against the officer as he did so. The officer, James Brennand, then shot at Cantu — 10 times.

The entire interaction unfolded over less than eight seconds, but it was enough to send Cantu to a hospital with critical injury and to lead police to fire Brennand.

“There is nothing I can say in defense of that officer’s actions that night,” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus told News 4 San Antonio. “I think what happened, initially, there was some contact made, but that did not justify the shooting.”

On Wednesday, police training commander Alyssa Campos said in a video statement that Brennand had been called to the McDonald’s to attend to an unrelated disturbance when he spotted Cantu’s car, which he believed had evaded him the previous day when he’d tried to make a stop because the license plate didn’t match the vehicle.

“The officer thought the car may be a stolen vehicle and called for cover,” Campos said.

But rather than wait for back-up to arrive, Campos said Brennand “abruptly” opened the car door and ordered Cantu out. When Cantu tried to drive away, Brennand shot five times through the door as it was closing.

As Cantu then drove away, Brennand told others on his police radio, “Shots fired! Shots fired!”

But Brennand then shot five more times at the car.