A rookie San Antonio police officer was fired after he shot a teenager eating in a McDonald’s parking lot, leaving Eric Cantu, 17, in critical condition. The San Antonio Police Department said 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. Cantu was initially charged with evading detention in a vehicle and assault on a police officer. Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales said Friday that he had dismissed the charges, reports the New York Times
. Gonzales said he had not determined whether to file charges against Brennand, a newly hired officer who was still in a probationary period. "The issue is going to be, if we ever get to trial, whether or not this officer felt like his life was in danger ... 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.” Police Capt. Alyssa Campos said that while the vehicle door was open, 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.”