Grand Jury Charges Fired San Antonio Cop With Attempted Murder
Trevor Schakohl on December 2, 2022
A grand jury indicted a fired San Antonio police officer for attempted murder over the October shooting of a teenager in a McDonald’s parking lot, the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney’s Office stated Thursday.
James Brennand opened 17-year-old Erik Cantu’s car door on Oct. 2 in the parking lot and told him to exit the vehicle, allegedly firing shots inside after Cantu grabbed the wheel and continuing to shoot as the car rolled away, body camera footage revealed.
The grand jury charged Brennand with attempted murder and two counts of aggravated assault, the second count brought for allegedly shooting at or in the direction of Cantu’s passenger Emily Proulx, according to a press release from Criminal District Attorney Joe Gonzales’ office.
Cantu suffered a variety of injuries and was hospitalized for more than a month afterwards, initially on life support, KSAT reported. Brennand could face up to 20 years in prison for the attempted murder charge, the press release said.
Brennand’s employment was terminated on Oct. 4, the San Antonio Police Department previously announced.
“We’re going to do everything possible to see that justice is done for Erik and the rest of his family,” Gonzales stated in a Wednesday press conference, noting that Cantu was unarmed when the incident occurred. “I want to commend the chief and the command staff for acting quickly to terminate this former officer.”
LaHood & Norton Law Group is representing Brennand, and attorney Nico LaHood has said that his actions were “legally justified,” according to ABC News.
“Already we have seen that the initial reports by rush to judgment attitude, have been contradicted by subsequent reporting that has examined the facts,” Lahood told the outlet. “We anticipate more information will be revealed that will further shed light on this incident.”
The San Antonio Police Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Grand Jury Charges Fired San Antonio Cop With Attempted Murder
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