James Brennand, a former San Antonio, Texas, police officer, was indicted by a grand jury for shooting 17-year-old Hispanic youth, Erik Cantu, while eating a hamburger in a McDonald’s parking lot.
The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office reported Thursday that Brennand, of 17, is facing two charges of aggravated assault for being a public official and one count of attempted murder for shooting and wounding the young man.
The officer was on probation when the incident occurred on October 2. He had been in the police force for seven months
Brennand came to the fast food joint following a call about alleged disturbances. Upon spotting the car in which Cantu was, the agent mistook it for a vehicle that had evaded a traffic control the day before and was supposedly stolen.
As part of the intervention, Brennand He suddenly opened the driver’s door of the car where Cantu was sitting eating, and next to him, a passenger.
Surveillance camera images show Cantu trying to drive away. It is there that the uniformed man shoots 17 times against the driver.
Cantu was injured in his vital organs and spent almost eight weeks in the hospital. This week he was released from the hospital, but a long recovery process is anticipated.
Nico LaHood, Brennand’s attorney, told CNN that his client’s version of events has not been considered in the discussion. “To this day, James Brennand has been tried in the court of public opinion without the benefit of his version of his story being known,” the legal representative said. “We anticipate that more information will be revealed that will shed more light on this incident,” LaHood added.
Brennad was fired from the San Antonio Police Department days after the incident. A little over a week later, he turned himself in to authorities and was arrested on charges of aggravated assault by a public official. He was released after posting a bond of $