San Antonio Police chief says charges coming for officer who shot 17-year-old at McDonald's parking lot - CNN

CNN  — 

The police shooting of an unarmed 17-year-old eating successful his car astatine a McDonald’s parking batch past week was “not justified” and authorities expect to record transgression charges against the serviceman by the extremity of the week, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said Tuesday.

“The video was horrific,” the main told CNN’s Brianna Keilar. “There is nary question successful anybody’s caput looking astatine that video that the shooting is not justified.”

McManus said helium recognized an contented instantly upon arriving to the scene of the October 2 shooting, based connected the determination of the slug holes.

“We person a argumentation that prohibits officers from shooting astatine vehicles, moving vehicles, but if their beingness is successful contiguous – their beingness oregon idiosyncratic else’s beingness – is successful contiguous danger,” helium said.

“When I saw it, the determination of the slug holes, I had an contented with it close away. You tin archer by looking astatine the vehicles, which mode the conveyance is moving erstwhile the shots are fired, and this vehicle, it was precise telling to me, that this conveyance was moving distant from the officer, and moving parallel with the officer, truthful it was beauteous wide to maine astatine that constituent that we were going to person an issue.”

He said helium expects the serviceman to beryllium charged with 2 counts of aggravated battle by the extremity of the week, charges that could emergence to homicide if the 17-year-old does not survive.

Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said precocious past week determination was the anticipation of charging Brennand with a crime.

Attempts to scope Brennand person not been successful.

The police chief’s comments travel a week aft James Brennand, a probationary serviceman with 7 months of experience, shot 17-year-old Erik Cantu arsenic the teen sat successful his car eating accelerated food.

According to police, Brennand was handling an unrelated disturbance telephone astatine the McDonald’s connected October 2 erstwhile helium saw a car helium believed had evaded constabulary the erstwhile time and called for backup.

Before backup officers arrived, assemblage camera video released by constabulary shows the serviceman locomotion up to the driver’s broadside of the car, unfastened the door, and bid the operator out. The visibly startled teen, who was successful the driver’s spot eating, enactment the car successful reverse and started backing up.

The constabulary serviceman past opened occurrence 5 times connected the car, according to the video. As the operator shifted the conveyance to determination forward, assemblage camera video showed the serviceman opening occurrence an further 5 times arsenic the car drove away.

Cantu was changeable aggregate times and is successful captious condition and connected a beingness enactment system, his household said Monday. A rider successful the conveyance was unhurt.

Brennand was fired successful the aftermath of the shooting for violating the agency’s tactics, grooming and procedures, constabulary said.

“It took america a mates of days to terminate Brennand, but helium was gone beauteous quickly,” McManus told CNN.

SAPD’s deadly unit policy is explicit: “An serviceman successful the way of an approaching conveyance shall effort to determination to a presumption of information alternatively than discharging a firearm astatine the conveyance oregon immoderate of the occupants of the vehicle.”

The argumentation further states that “officers should not sprout astatine immoderate portion of a conveyance successful an effort to disable the vehicle.”

While successful the hospital, Cantu was initially charged with evading detention successful a conveyance and assaulting the officer, who had claimed helium was struck by the doorway of the car arsenic the teen backed up.

However, his defence lawyer Brian Powers said the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office notified him prosecutors would not beryllium moving guardant with charges. A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s bureau referred CNN to the county’s online tribunal grounds system, which indicates some charges person been dismissed and the lawsuit closed.

“While Sunday’s shooting of an unarmed teen by a then-San Antonio Police serviceman remains nether investigation, the facts and grounds we person received truthful acold led america to cull the charges against Erik Cantu for further investigation,” Gonzales’ bureau said successful a statement.

“Once SAPD completes its probe into the actions of erstwhile Officer James Brennand and submits the lawsuit to our office, our Civil Rights Division volition afloat reappraisal the filing. As we bash with each officer-involved shootings that effect successful decease oregon superior injury, we volition taxable the lawsuit to a Grand Jury for their consideration. Until that happens, we tin marque nary further remark connected this matter.”