By Ashley Silver
SAN ANTONIO — Newly released body cam footage uncovers new details and prompts additional questions regarding a San Antonio officer-involved shooting earlier this week.
According to MySA, San Antonio Police Department rookie James Brennand was fired following an internal review that found inconsistencies in the officer’s account of the shooting and what can be seen on video.
Initially, the officer stated he was hit by a vehicle driven by an unnamed teen before firing his weapon in self-defense, but the bodycam footage illustrates a different scenario. The teen never appears to have come in contact with the officer using his car in the video.
The incident began when Brennand, a rookie with seven months on the force, took notice of a vehicle in a McDonald’s parking lot that allegedly eluded the officer during a pursuit the night before, MySA reported.
In the footage, the officer approaches the car and opens the teen’s front door. He then asked the teen to remove himself from the vehicle, to which the young man places his hands on the steering wheel and responds, “Why?”
The car then appears to roll backward after a brief struggle between the officer and the teen. As the vehicle is moving, the officer fires five shots. However, the clip doesn’t show the vehicle coming in direct contact with Brennand’s body before or after the shots rang out.
The teen was transported to a local hospital in critical condition following the shooting, according to MySA.
“There is nothing I can say in defense of that officer’s actions that night,” Police Chief William McManus told News 4 San Antonio. “I think what happened, initially, there was some contact made, but that did not justify the shooting.”
SAPD announced Brennand’s firing mid-week via a press release.