CNN
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Shot and killed former San Antonio police officer An unarmed 17-year-old A McDonald’s employee was assaulted by a public employee while eating in his car last week, the police department announced Tuesday.
The officer, identified as James Brenand, turned himself in to San Antonio police Tuesday night, Police Chief William McManus said at a Tuesday news conference.
It comes days after Brennan’s arrest Deleted in connection with October 2 shooting It left the teenager in a precarious position. Brendan did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment before his arrest. It was unclear Tuesday night if he had an attorney.
McManus has said it was clear from the beginning that the shooting was “not justified.”
“The video is horrific,” the chief previously told CNN’s Brianna Keilar. Watching that video leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind that the shooting was unjustified.
McManus said he sensed a problem upon arrival Shooting sceneBased on the location of the bullet holes.
“We have a policy that prohibits shooting at vehicles, moving vehicles — unless the officer’s life is in immediate danger,” he said.
“When I looked at it, the location of the bullet holes, I immediately had a problem with that. Just looking at the vehicles, which way the vehicle was going when the shooting happened, tells me a lot that this vehicle is moving away from the officer and parallel to the officer. We have a It was very clear to me at that point that trouble was coming,” McManus said.
The chief has previously said that if the 17-year-old does not survive, the aggravated assault charges could be upgraded to murder.
The announcement of the charges comes a week after Brennan, a probation officer with seven months of experience. Shot 17-year-old Eric Cantu The teenager was sitting in his car eating fast food.
According to police, Brenant was handling an unrelated disturbance call at McDonald’s on Oct. 2 when he saw a car he believed had eluded police the day before and called for backup.
Before backup officers arrived, body camera video released by police shows the officer walking to the driver’s side of the car, opening the door and ordering the driver out. The startled teenager, who was eating in the driver’s seat, put the car in reverse and began backing away.
The video shows that the police officer fired five times at the car. Body camera video shows the officer firing five additional shots as the driver drives the vehicle forward.
Kandu was shot multiple times is in critical condition and a life support system, his family said Monday. The passenger in the vehicle was uninjured.
Brennan was there Gunfire followed gunfire For violating the agency’s tactics, training and procedures, police said.
“It took us two days to stop Brennan, but he was gone pretty quickly,” McManus told CNN.
SAPD’s deadly force policy Obvious: “An officer in the path of an oncoming vehicle should attempt to take a defensive position rather than discharge a firearm at the vehicle or its occupants.”
“Officers may not shoot at any part of a vehicle in an attempt to disable it,” the policy added.
While at the hospital, Kantu was initially charged with evading custody in a vehicle and assaulting an officer, who said the teenager was hit by a car door as he backed away.
However, his defense attorney, Brian Powers, said the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office informed him that prosecutors would not move forward with charges. A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office referred CNN to the county’s online court records system, which indicated both charges were dismissed and the case closed.
“The shooting of an unarmed teenager by a San Antonio police officer on Sunday remains under investigation, and the facts and evidence available to us so far have led us to dismiss the charges against Eric Cantu pending further investigation,” District Attorney Joe Gonzalez’s office said. In a statement last week.
“Once SAPD completes its investigation into the actions of former Officer James Brenand and submits the case to our office, our Civil Rights Division will fully review the filing. 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 consideration. Until that happens, We cannot comment on this matter.
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