Erik Cantu, girlfriend sue City of San Antonio in federal court over police shooting

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a statement from San Antonio’s city attorney.

The San Antonio teenager shot multiple times by a San Antonio police officer in Oct. 22, 2022, in a McDonald’s parking lot has filed federal civil rights lawsuit against both the city and the former officer involved in the incident.

High-profile civil rights attorney Ben Crump filed the suit Friday on behalf of Erik Cantu and Cantu’s girlfriend, Emily Proulx, in U.S. District Court in San Antonio. The petition alleges San Antonio Police Chief William McManus “adopted formal and informal policies, practices, procedures, and culture” that led to officer James Brennand, who’s since been removed from the force, shooting Cantu.

The suit also alleges McManus failed to appropriately discipline SAPD officers and that he repeatedly reinstated officers terminated for misconduct, which created an “informal policy of tolerance and support for officers who unconstitutionally use excessive force.”

Among other examples, the suit also recounts the SAPD shootings of Antronie Scott in 2016, 13-year-old AJ Hernandez in 2022 and Melissa Perez in 2023, arguing they show the department’s culture of excessive use of force.

The civil complaint seeks an unspecified sum for compensation for past and future medical expenses, past and future pain and suffering, physical impairment, physical disfigurement, past and future mental anguish as well as court costs and further relief in which the plaintiffs are “justly entitled.”

In an emailed statement, San Antonio City Attorney Andy Segovia said the suit’s claims are without merit.

“The San Antonio Police Department’s policies concerning the use of force have consistently been found to be well above the legal standard,” Segovia said. “James Brennand’s actions on that day were clearly inconsistent with SAPD training and policy.”

Cantu and Proulx were sitting in a maroon BMW in a San Antonio McDonald’s parking lot on Oct. 22, 20222, when Brennand, who didn’t identify himself as an officer, according to the suit, opened the driver’s side door and demanded that Cantu exit the vehicle.

When Cantu sped off, Brennand fired at the vehicle multiple times, injuring Cantu.

Brennand is facing two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant and one count of deadly conduct in relation to the shooting.

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This article appears in Apr 3-16, 2024.