A rookie San Antonio police officer was fired after he shot a teenager who was eating in a McDonald’s parking lot, leaving the 17-year-old in critical condition, the authorities said.
The San Antonio Police Department said that the former officer, James Brennand, was fired because of his actions during the encounter on Oct. 2. Body camera footage showed him abruptly opening the door of a car the teenager was in and opening fire moments later.
The teenager, Erik Cantu, was initially charged with evading detention in a vehicle and assault on a police officer, the department said. But the Bexar County criminal district attorney, Joe Gonzales, said during a news conference on Friday that he had dismissed the charges.
The police are investigating the shooting and will forward their results to Mr. Gonzales, Capt. Alyssa Campos, the training commander for the San Antonio police, said in a video statement on Wednesday.
Mr. Gonzales said that he had not determined yet whether to file charges against Mr. Brennand, a newly hired officer who was still in a probationary period, and was awaiting “all the evidence.”
“The issue is going to be, if we ever get to trial, whether or not this officer felt like his life was in danger,” Mr. Gonzales said.
He later added: “What was disturbing to me is at the moment that the officer fired and then continued to fire, it didn’t appear to me that his life was in danger. But again, we don’t have all the facts. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Mr. Brennand could not be reached on Saturday and it was unclear whether he had a lawyer.
Brian Powers, a lawyer for Mr. Cantu, declined to comment on the investigation but relayed a message from the teenager’s family.
“He is still in critical condition and literally fighting for his life every minute of the day,” Mr. Powers said. “His body has endured a tremendous amount of trauma.”
It was not immediately clear precisely how many shots were fired and how many times Mr. Cantu was struck.
The encounter began around 10:45 p.m. when the police were called to a disturbance call at the McDonald’s in north-central San Antonio, Captain Campos said.
As Mr. Brennand spoke with witnesses, he spotted a car that he believed to be stolen and that had fled the day before, Captain Campos said, adding that the vehicle was not the subject of the disturbance call. Officials did not say whether the car had been stolen.
Mr. Brennand called for backup but before other officers arrived he “abruptly opened” the driver’s side door and ordered Mr. Cantu out, Captain Campos.
“Why?” Mr. Cantu asked with a confused look on his face, holding food in his hand and still chewing, according to the footage.
Captain Campos said that, while the vehicle door was open, Mr. Cantu put the car in reverse and tried to leave.
“The officer was hit by the open door,” she said. “The officer then stepped back and opened fire on the vehicle as the driver reversed away from him. The driver shifted the vehicle to drive and then turned away from the officer to leave and the officer shot several more times at the fleeing vehicle.”
Captain Campos said that Mr. Cantu and a 17-year-old female passenger were found a block away. Details about the passenger were not immediately available.
William McManus, the San Antonio police chief, could not be reached late Saturday, but he told television station WOAI that Mr. Brennand should not have opened fire.
“There is nothing I can say in defense of that officer’s actions that night,” Chief McManus said, adding, “I think what happened, initially, there was some contact made, but that did not justify the shooting.”
