The San Antonio police fired an agent on Wednesday after shooting several times and wounding a teenager who was inside a car parked in front of a fast food restaurant, according to the local press in the Texan city.
Officer James Brennand, who had only been on duty for seven months, went last Sunday around 10:45 p.m. (local time) to a McDonald's chain restaurant after receiving notice of an incident, according to the police report cited by local station KSAT.
Image from the police camera.
San Antonio Police Department
While investigating what happened, he saw a car in the parking lot that had run away the day before when he ordered it to stop after detecting that the license plate did not match the vehicle.
The images captured by his personal camera, released by the Police Department, show how Brennand called for backup but decided to act on his own before more officers arrived.
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He walked to the car, opened the driver's door, identified as 17-year-old Erik Cantu, and ordered, "Get out of the vehicle."
The young man, apparently surprised, backed up with the door still open.
The policeman fired a dozen times, until the car left the parking lot and disappeared into city traffic.
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Cantu and his passenger, also 17, were found outside the car a block away, according to KSAT.
Cantú was shot several times and, after being revived, was hospitalized in serious condition.
He is charged with evading a police vehicle stop and assault on an officer, according to the local station.
His companion was uninjured in the incident.
“Officers are prohibited from shooting and moving vehicles unless it is in defense of life.
And that particular case, that night was not in defense of life,” police chief William McManus told local station KENS 5.
"Nothing I can say can defend what he did," he said.
