Former SAPD officer James Brennand points a weapon at a maroon BMW driven by Erik Cantu on Oct. 22, 2022 in this body-cam footage. Credit: Screen Capture: YouTube / San Antonio Police Department

The teenager shot last week in a McDonald’s parking lot by a since-terminated San Antonio police officer wasn’t driving a stolen vehicle, KSAT reports, citing an SAPD statement.

Former officer James Brennand told SAPD that he approached the maroon sedan driven by 17-year-old Erik Cantu because he suspected it was stolen, according to media reports. In body cam footage, Brennand is seen telling a dispatcher that he “got the vehicle that fled from me the other day.”

However, Brennand doesn’t appear to wait for radio confirmation that the car had been reported stolen. Instead, the footage shows the rookie officer approach the car, fling open the door and demand that Cantu get out.

The car then rolls backward in the video, and Brennand discharges five shots. The clip also shows the former officer firing five more times as the sedan attempts to flee the parking lot.

Brennand has since been fired from the force and charged with two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant.

Cantu remains in critical condition on life support, according to his family attorney.

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This article appears in Oct 5-18, 2022.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...