(CNN) — The shooting of an unarmed youth The 17-year-old eating in his car in a McDonald’s parking lot in San Antonio, Texas, was an “individual failure for a police officer” who is now in custody and facing charges of aggravated assault, the police chief said this week. Tuesday.
The police shooting, which left the teen in critical condition, occurred on Oct. 2, when now-former San Antonio deputy James Brennand responded to a disturbance call at the restaurant and saw a car he believed had evaded police. Police the day before.
Body camera footage released by police shows the officer walked up to the driver’s side of the car, opened the door and ordered the driver to get out. The visibly shocked teen put the car in reverse and started to back up.
The police officer then opened fire five times at the car, according to the video. As the driver moved the vehicle to move forward, body camera video showed the officer opening fire five more times as the car drove away.
the teenager, identified as Erik CantuHe was shot multiple times and was on life support, his family said Monday.
Brennand gave himself up to San Antonio police Tuesday night on two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant, Police Chief William McManus said at a news conference Tuesday.
Erik Cantu is seen on police body camera video. The video was released by the San Antonio Police Department. (Photo: San Antonio Police Department/AP)
The chief said an aggravated assault charge was filed for each person who was in the car: the teen in the driver’s seat and a passenger.
The shooting was “both administratively and criminally unjustified” and was against department policy, McManus said.
“This was an individual failure for a police officer. It had nothing to do with our policies. Policies didn’t allow that, our training didn’t teach that. So this was a failure for one police officer in particular,” the chief said.
Brennand did not respond to CNN requests for comment prior to his arrest. It was unclear Tuesday night if he had an attorney.
The chief has said the aggravated assault charge could escalate to homicide if the 17-year-old does not survive.
The Police Department has been in contact with the district attorney’s office, which may need more information before taking the case to a grand jury, the chief said.
“We worked on this for several days to get to this point where we could send a warrant to a judge to sign, and that’s where we are now,” McManus said.
‘Horrifying’ video shows shooting was unjustified, chief says
Looking at the bullet holes in the car while at the scene of the shooting, McManus recognized a problem right away, he said.
Body camera footage also showed the officers’ actions were not in line with training, according to the chief.
“The video was horrible,” McManus told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on Tuesday morning. “There is no question in the mind of anyone watching that video that the shooting is not justified.”
McManus said department policy prohibits officers from shooting at moving vehicles unless their life or someone else’s life is in immediate danger.
“By looking at the vehicles, you can tell which way the vehicle is moving when the shots are being fired, and this vehicle, it was very revealing to me, that this vehicle was moving away from the officer and moving parallel with him, so at that point it was pretty clear to me that we were going to have a problem,” McManus said.
Brennand was a probationary cop with seven months’ experience. He was fired for violating the agency’s tactics, training and procedures after the shooting, authorities said.
Cantu, the teen was initially charged with evading arrest in a vehicle and assaulting the officer, after Brennand claimed he was hit by the car door as the teen was backing up.
But Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales later said in a statement that “the facts and evidence we have received thus far have led us to dismiss the charges against Erik Cantu for further investigation.”
After the shooting, the teen was found a block away with multiple gunshot wounds, while a passenger in the car was uninjured, police said.
The teen’s family released a statement Monday saying he was in critical condition after undergoing surgeries to repair major organ injuries from bullets.