On Oct. 2, 2022, former SAPD Officer James Brennand shot and wounded 17-year-old Erik Cantu. The incident occurred in a McDonald’s parking lot where Cantu was eating in his car when Brennand approached his vehicle. After body cam footage was released and the public outroar that ensued, Brennand was charged with attempted murder for the near-fatal shooting.
Over a year since the original incident occurred, the Bexar County District Attorney’s (DA) Office has dropped the attempted murder charges that Brennand was indicted on.
Previously, Brennand was indicted on three charges: two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant — a first-degree felony — and one count of attempted murder, which is a second-degree felony. Last week, a grand jury issued a new indictment, and a copy was served to Brennand during a court hearing on Monday. The attempted murder charge was removed and replaced with a charge of deadly conduct, a third-degree felony.
The removal of the attempted murder charge is appalling. Body cam footage from the incident shows not only the recklessness of the rookie officer — who had only been on the job for seven months at the time of the incident — but also his intent to kill Cantu. Brennand incorrectly identified Cantu’s vehicle as a stolen one that previously eluded him and failed to identify himself as police to Cantu. Then, with his firearm drawn, he ordered Cantu to leave the vehicle and proceeded to fire at Cantu 10 times as he attempted to flee. The shooting left Cantu in critical condition, with a two-week stay in the hospital and a second three-day stay for digestive tract complications.
Brennand ultimately failed to follow the correct course of action each step of the way, intending to kill Cantu . The substitution of the attempted murder charge shows the Bexar County DA Office’s failure to correctly charge police after gross misconduct. If convicted he Brennand will face prison time ranging between 5 years and life in prison — a range that is far too wide for such an incident.
Contact information for the Bexar County DA Office can be found here.
