SAN ANTONIO – Officials with the city of San Antonio are attempting to withhold the release of public information related to the case of teenager Erik Cantu, who was shot by a San Antonio police officer earlier this month.
Cantu, 17, was shot by ex-San Antonio Police Department officer James Brennand in a McDonald’s parking lot on Oct. 2. Cantu remains hospitalized, while Brennand was fired and charged.
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San Antonio police released graphic body camera footage of the shooting three days after the incident occurred. The footage was a portion of what was captured by Brennand’s body-worn camera.
KSAT requested additional video from Brennand’s camera and other officers, in addition to the police report, under the Texas Public Information Act, on Oct. 25 and 27.
In response, James Kopp, assistant city attorney for San Antonio, sent a letter to the Texas attorney general on Friday. The letter asks whether the city can keep the public records private under an exception in the state law. The Texas Attorney General has the authority to decide whether information can be kept private based on its interpretation of the law.
Kopp argues that the requested information contains records that should be excepted under certain provisions of the law.
The initial charges against Cantu, which included evading detention in a vehicle and assault on an officer, were dropped just days after the shooting by Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales.
However, Brennand is currently charged with two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant, a first-degree felony.
He was released from Bexar County Jail on a $200,000 bond and a hearing has been set for Nov. 23.