Shooting of Erik Cantu

Last updated

Shooting of Erik Cantu
DateOctober 2, 2022;18 months ago (2022-10-02)
Timec. 10:43:34 pm [1] (CDT)
Location San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Type Police shooting
Filmed by Police body camera
Non-fatal injuriesFour gunshot wounds, critical condition, developed pneumonia after injuries
AccusedJames Brennand
Charges Aggravated assault (two counts), [2]
attempted murder [3]

On October 2, 2022, Officer James Brennand of the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) shot 17-year-old Erik Cantu in the parking lot of a McDonald's restaurant in San Antonio, Texas. After responding to an unrelated disturbance, Brennand saw Cantu eating a hamburger in his vehicle, and recognized the vehicle as the same one which had evaded him at a traffic stop the day prior. After opening Cantu's driver-side door, Brennand opened fire when Cantu reversed the vehicle. Brennand was fired less than a week later and was later charged with two counts of aggravated assault by a peace officer. He was later indicted for aggravated assault and attempted murder. [3] Following the incident, Cantu was immediately placed on life support and remained hospitalized for a number of weeks. [4] [5]

Contents

Background

Brennand was a probationary officer who had been with the SAPD for seven months prior to the shooting. The day prior to the shooting, Cantu had evaded police in the same maroon vehicle, with license plates that were not registered to it. Whether or not Cantu was the same individual from the incident the day before was initially unclear, with some media outlets reporting that Cantu was not the same individual. For example, ABC News reported that officer Brennand had "confus[ed] him and his car with someone who fled from an attempted stop the night before." [6] The San Antonio Current later reported that Cantu apparently was the same individual, based on police records of an interview with Cantu's girlfriend. [7] Cantu's girlfriend was in the car with him during both incidents, and the first incident left her hesitant to get in the car with him again for fear that Cantu's actions might get them arrested or "shot at," she stated in that interview. [8]

Shooting

Around 10:45 PM on October 2, Officer Brennand responded to the McDonald's on Blanco Road in San Antonio for an unrelated disturbance call. As he questioned witnesses, Brennand noticed Cantu's vehicle, which had evaded him the day before. The vehicle had license plates registered to another vehicle, making Brennand think it was stolen. After Brennand called for backup, he approached the vehicle, opened the driver-side door, and ordered Cantu to exit. As Cantu reversed his vehicle, Brennand fired five times. He then fired five more times as the vehicle drove away. A passenger sitting in the vehicle was uninjured. [9] Police later stated that while the vehicle had license plates registered to another vehicle, it was not stolen. [10]

Cantu was rendered unconscious and put on life support as a result of the shooting. An attorney for the family said that, "any reports that Cantu is stable or is 'going to be fine' are not true." [11] On October 25, 2022, the family gave a press conference, where they stated that Cantu had developed pneumonia. In addition, the family stated that three of the bullets had been removed, but not a fourth, located near his heart. Cantu's father stated that his condition was "touch and go." [12] [13] On November 7, Cantu's family stated he was weaned off life support and was placed on high-flow oxygen via a tracheostomy. [14] On November 22, Cantu was released from the hospital and returned home. [15]

Reaction

The Party for Socialism and Liberation and ACT 4 SA held a protest on October 11 outside the SAPD headquarters. [16]

Cantu's family hired civil rights lawyer Ben Crump. [17] Cantu's girlfriend also hired Crump. [18] Cantu has been charged with multiple crimes since recovering from his injuries and this has caused a delay in the trial of former officer Brennand.

Investigation and charges

Two days after the shooting, Brennand was fired. A spokesperson for the SAPD said Brennand violated his training and police procedures, citing how he approached the vehicle before backup arrived. [4] On October 11, Brennand was charged with two counts of aggravated assault by a peace officer, one count for Cantu and another for the uninjured passenger. [19] SAPD Police Chief William McManus stated that if Cantu died, the charges could have been upgraded to homicide. Brennand was released on a $200,000 bail. His pre-hearing was set for November 23, 2022. [20] He was later indicted by a grand jury for aggravated assault and attempted murder. [3]

Cantu was initially charged with evading detention in a vehicle and assault on a peace officer, but Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales later announced the charges would be dismissed "...out of compassion because the teen is in critical condition in the hospital." [21] Since then, Cantu has been charged with multiple crimes, including allegedly evading police again in the same red BMW, [22] which has delayed the trial of Brennand.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Antonio Police Department</span> Municipal police force in the United States

The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of San Antonio, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. Its headquarters are at South Santa Rosa district. SAPD is one of the largest municipal police departments in Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Lakewood shooting</span> 2009 murder of four Lakewood police officers in Parkland, Washington, USA

On November 29, 2009, four police officers of Lakewood, Washington were fatally shot at the Forza Coffee shop, located at 11401 Steele Street #108 South in the Parkland unincorporated area of Pierce County, Washington, near Tacoma. A gunman, later identified as Maurice Clemmons, entered the shop, shot the officers while they worked on laptops, and fled the scene with a single gunshot wound in his torso. After a massive two-day manhunt that spanned several nearby cities, an officer recognized Clemmons near a stalled car in south Seattle. When he refused orders to stop, he was shot and killed by a Seattle Police Department officer.

Chad Holley was an Elsik High School sophomore at the time of his arrest in 2010 as an alleged burglary suspect. During the arrest, he was beaten and kicked by the Houston Police Department (HPD). He was eventually found guilty and sentenced to probation until he turned 18.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Crump</span> American lawyer (born 1969)

Benjamin Lloyd Crump is an American attorney who specializes in civil rights and catastrophic personal injury cases such as wrongful death lawsuits. His practice has focused on cases such as those of Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, George Floyd, Keenan Anderson, Randy Cox, and Tyre Nichols, people affected by the Flint water crisis, the estate of Henrietta Lacks, and the plaintiffs behind the 2019 Johnson & Johnson baby powder lawsuit alleging the company's talcum powder product led to ovarian cancer diagnoses. Crump is also founder of the firm Ben Crump Law of Tallahassee, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Antonio Martin</span> 2014 police killing in Berkeley, Missouri

The shooting of Antonio Martin occurred on December 23, 2014, in Berkeley, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Martin, an 18-year-old black male, was fatally shot by a white Berkeley police officer when Martin pulled a gun on him. The shooting sparked protests in the St. Louis area and other cities in the U.S. The shooting elicited comparison to the earlier shooting death of Michael Brown two miles away in Ferguson, Missouri.

The shooting deaths of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, two Black American individuals, occurred in East Cleveland, Ohio on November 29, 2012, at the conclusion of a 22-minute police chase which started in downtown Cleveland. Police claimed shots were fired at them as Russell and Williams drove by a squad car; however, this was their vehicle backfiring. Over 60 officers participated in a 23-mile police chase that ended in Russell and Williams' vehicle being surrounded. The victims had no weapon on them and police claimed they fired due to being fired at. Thirteen police officers fired at Russell and Williams 137 times while they were in their car at a parking lot of a middle school, killing both. In May 2014, one of the officers involved, Michael Brelo, was charged with two counts of voluntary manslaughter, and was acquitted by a Cuyahoga County judge of the charges on May 23, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder of Laquan McDonald</span> 2014 police murder of a black teenager in Chicago, Illinois, United States

The murder of Laquan McDonald took place on October 20, 2014, in Chicago, Illinois. McDonald was a 17-year-old who was fatally shot by a Chicago Police Officer, Jason Van Dyke. Police had initially reported that McDonald was behaving erratically while walking down the street, refusing to put down a knife, and that he had lunged at officers. Preliminary internal police reports described the incident similarly, leading to the shooting being judged as justifiable, and Van Dyke not being charged at the time. This was later disproved after a video of the encounter was released, showing that McDonald was walking away.

On November 20, 2016, Benjamin Marconi, a detective with the San Antonio Police Department, was shot to death in San Antonio, Texas. In the shooting, a motorist stopped his car, got out, and shot and wounded Marconi while the latter was sitting in his marked patrol car in front of the department's headquarters, writing a ticket for another driver during a routine traffic stop.

Juan David Ortiz is an American spree killer, serial killer, and former Border Patrol agent. He murdered four women, all sex workers, in September 2018. He was caught and arrested after a potential victim escaped and alerted police.

On August 5, 2016, Jamarion Rashad Robinson, a 26-year-old African American man who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was shot 59 times and killed in a police raid in East Point, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta. The shooting occurred when at least 14 officers of a Southeast Regional Fugitive Taskforce from at least seven different agencies, led by U.S. Marshals, forcibly entered the apartment of Robinson's girlfriend to serve a warrant for his arrest. The officers were heavily armed, including with submachine guns. The warrant was being served on behalf of the Gwinnett County police and the Atlanta Police Department, and authorities said they had sought his arrest for attempted arson and aggravated assault of a police officer. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) stated that Robinson had been repeatedly ordered to put down a weapon and that officers who had been involved in the shooting reported Robinson fired at them three times.

On June 6, 2020, Carlos Carson, an unarmed African American man in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was assaulted and killed by a private security guard with an extensive and controversial law enforcement background.

On May 13, 2019, an African American woman, Pamela Turner, was shot and killed by a police officer from Baytown, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Alvin Cole</span> 2020 police killing of a black teenager

On the evening of February 2, 2020, Alvin Cole, a 17-year-old black male, was fatally shot by a Wauwatosa, Wisconsin black male police officer Joseph Mensah, outside Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa. The shooting occurred after Cole refused a command from the police to drop the stolen gun he was holding and Cole fired a bullet as he tried to flee. Two shots were fired when Cole was on his hands and knees, and the remaining three shots were fired by Mensah while Cole was face down on the ground. Mensah was the only officer among the five other officers at the scene who fired his weapon.

On May 27, 2022, Leonna Hale, a 26-year old black woman, was shot five times by the Kansas City Police Department at a Family Dollar parking lot, in response to a suspected carjacking. She told officers she was pregnant before being shot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bandidos MC criminal allegations and incidents in the United States</span>

The Bandidos Motorcycle Club has been designated an outlaw motorcycle gang by the U.S. Department of Justice. The club is involved in drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, explosives violations, motorcycle and motorcycle-parts theft, intimidation, insurance fraud, kidnapping, robbery, theft, stolen property, counterfeiting, contraband smuggling, murder, bombings, extortion, arson and assault. The Bandidos partake in transporting and distributing cocaine and marijuana, and the production, transportation and distribution of methamphetamine. Active primarily in the Northwestern, Southeastern, Southwestern and the West Central regions, there are an estimated 800 to 1,000 Bandidos members and 93 chapters in 16 U.S. states.

References

  1. ↑ "17-YEAR-OLD SHOT BY FORMER SAN ANTONIO OFFICER STILL ON LIFE SUPPORT AS CHARGES FILED IN CASE". ABC 7 Chicago. October 11, 2022. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Fired Texas police officer charged over shooting of teen in fast-food parking lot". The Guardian. October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Killough, Ashley (December 1, 2022). "Former San Antonio police officer who shot unarmed teen in a McDonald's parking lot has been indicted for attempted murder, prosecutor says". CNN. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Miller, Ken (October 7, 2022). "Texas officer fired after shooting hamburger-eating teenager". Associated Press. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Former San Antonio officer who shot teen in McDonald's parking lot arrested". CBS News. October 11, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Mother of Erik Cantu asks 'not only for justice, but we're asking for Erik to live'". ABC News. October 25, 2022.
  7. ↑ Collier, Dillon (October 31, 2022). "Night before shooting at McDonalds, Erik Cantu evaded same SAPD officer who shot him: records". KSAT.com. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  8. ↑ Karlis, Michael (November 1, 2022). "Erik Cantu evaded San Antonio cop the night before shooting, SAPD records reportedly show". San Antonio Current. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  9. ↑ Burke, Minyvonne (October 7, 2022). "San Antonio officer fired after shooting at teen sitting in McDonald's parking lot eating a burger". NBC News. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Teen shot by San Antonio police officer was NOT driving a stolen car". NBC News 4 San Antonio. October 12, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  11. ↑ Burke, Minyvonne; Alsharif, Mirna (October 11, 2022). "17-year-old is on life support after being shot by San Antonio officer in McDonald's parking lot". NBC News. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  12. ↑ Burke, Minyvonne (October 25, 2022). "'He's just mutilated': Parents of San Antonio teen shot in McDonald's parking lot say every day is a struggle". NBC News. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  13. ↑ Stengle, Jamie (October 25, 2022). "Condition of Texas teen shot eating hamburger 'touch and go'". Associated Press. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  14. ↑ Karlis, Michael (November 7, 2022). "Erik Cantu, San Antonio teen shot by now-fired police officer, no longer on life support, family says". San Antonio Current. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  15. ↑ Patton, Mary Claire; Barajas, John Paul; Herrera, Ivan (November 22, 2022). "Erik Cantu back home more than 7 weeks after being shot by SAPD officer, family says". KSAT 12. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  16. ↑ Aguirre, Priscilla (October 11, 2022). "What we know about the San Antonio teen shot by fired SAPD officer". My San Antonio. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  17. ↑ Patton, Mary Claire (October 25, 2022). "Erik Cantu's family to speak publicly for first time after teen was shot by SAPD officer". KSAT. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Girlfriend of Erik Cantu hires attorney Ben Crump following shooting by former SAPD officer". KENS CBS 5. December 2, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  19. ↑ Grant, Teddy (October 11, 2022). "Former San Antonio cop charged with aggravated assault in shooting of 17-year-old in McDonald's parking lot". ABC News. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  20. ↑ Peck, Josh (October 12, 2022). "Fired San Antonio officer who shot 17-year-old Erik Cantu out on bail after arrest for aggravated assault". KUT 90.5. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Bexar Co. DA drops charges against teen shot by now-former SAPD officer". KENS CBS 5. October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  22. ↑ "San Antonio teen shot by police officer in McDonald's parking lot arrested again". San Antonio Current. December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.