Travis Gettys is a senior editor for Raw Story based in northern Kentucky. He previously worked as a web editor for WLWT-TV and a contributing writer for the Kentucky Enquirer, and he also wrote for the award-winning Sadly, No! blog. He has covered national, state and local politics, breaking news, criminal investigations and trials, sports and a variety of community issues, with a special emphasis on racial justice, right-wing extremism and gun safety.
A Texas cop was fired after body camera video revealed he shot a teenager moments after yanking open his car door and ordering him out.
James Brennand, who at the time was a San Antonio police officer, was called to a disturbance Sunday at 10:45 p.m. at a McDonald's parking lot but noticed a suspected stolen vehicle that he said evaded him the day before during a traffic stop, and he approached the car and found two teenagers eating inside, reported KSAT-TV.
The officer called for backup, pulled open the car door with his gun drawn and ordered the driver out, but 17-year-old Erik Cantu put the vehicle in reverse and Brennand immediately opened fire when the open door struck him.
The teenager put the car into drive and attempted to drive away as Brennand continued pumping shots into the vehicle, and he stopped about a block away, where the officer administered CPR until emergency crews arrived, according to the police report.
Cantu was hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds, and his condition is not known, but a 17-year-old girl riding in the car was not injured.
Brennand, who had been on the force for seven months, was still on a one-year probationary period after graduating from the police academy, and he was placed on administrative leave immediately after the shooting and then fired Wednesday for violating departmental tactics and procedures.
“The former Officer’s actions are indefensible and do not align with our training, tactics and procedures," said police chief William McManus. "As such, I terminated him. I will withhold further comment as this incident is still under investigation."