James Ramos, a friend of Erik Cantu, speaks to protesters at SAPD headquarters Tuesday evening, less than an hour before charges were filed against former officer James Brennand. Credit: Michael Karlis
The condition of Erik Cantu, the unarmed teen shot and critically wounded early this month by a now-fired San Antonio police officer, has improved, although he remains on life support, according to his family.

Cantu, 17, has been in critical condition since rookie officer James Brennand shot him multiple times on Oct. 2 in a McDonald’s parking lot. The shooting made national headlines and stoked anger among police accountability advocates.

“Erik still remains on life support for his lungs, but we are seeing improvement,” the family said in a statement released through the law office of Ben Crump, the high-profile civil rights attorney now representing them. “Any small progress seems so big to us. Erik is quite the miracle.”

Brennand was fired from the force days after the incident and now faces two felony counts of aggravated assault by a public servant.

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This article appears in Oct 19 – Nov 1, 2022.

Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...