The disturbing images were captured by a police officer’s bodycam in San Antonio, Texas on October 2nd and released last week. A police officer opens the car door of a car parked in front of a McDonald’s branch. A stunned teenager eating a burger panics while the door is still open. The officer then fires ten shots at the car as it pulls out of the parking lot. The officer later explained that the vehicle the youth was in had escaped from him during an attempted traffic stop the night before and he suspected it had been stolen.
The 17-year-old was taken to hospital shortly afterwards. His condition is still critical, as reported by the news channel NBC, among others. “There is no improvement in his condition at this time. He is still unconscious and is on life support,” his attorney said in a statement Tuesday. Every breath is a struggle for him. The teenager’s passenger, the same age, was unharmed in the gunfire. The officer, who has only been on the job for seven months and is still on probation, will be fired after the incident.
The police department filed a complaint against the 25-year-old on Tuesday. As USA Today reports, he faces two counts of grievous bodily harm in public service.
San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus commented on the incident in a broadcast by Kens5 television: “The video was appalling. When you look at the video, there is no doubt that the shooting was unjustified.” Officers would have a policy prohibiting them from shooting at moving vehicles unless their life or the life of another is in imminent danger.
No charges have yet been filed against the officer, but McManus expects that to change by the end of the week. Should the teenager succumb to his injuries, however, the expected charge would change from assault to murder or manslaughter, McManus said.
Sources: USA Today, NBC, Kens5, ksat.com