San Antonio police officer fired for shooting teen

() — A San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) officer was fired after shooting a 17-year-old who was eating in a McDonald’s parking lot on Sunday, the department said.

The officer, whose identity has not been released, described by the department as a police officer with seven months of experience, was fired for violating the department’s “tactics, training and procedures,” police said.

The SAPD said in a video statement that the officer was responding to an unrelated disturbance call at the McDonald’s on Sunday night when he saw a car that he believed had evaded police the day before and called for backup.

Before backup officers arrived, body camera video released by police shows the officer walking to the driver’s side of the car, opening the door and ordering the driver to get out. The visibly shocked teen, who was eating in the driver’s seat, put the car in reverse and started to back up.

The police officer then opened fire five times on the car, according to the video. As the driver moved the vehicle to move forward, body camera video showed the officer opening fire five more times as the car drove away.

The SAPD said the teen was found a block away with multiple gunshot wounds. A passenger in the car was uninjured, police said.

The teen remained hospitalized as of Wednesday, police said, and was charged with evading arrest in a vehicle and assaulting the officer, who said he was hit by the car door as the teen was backing up.

The teen’s defense attorney, Brian Powers, told he was notified by the Bexar County District Attorney’s office Friday that prosecutors would not be pursuing charges against his client. A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office referred to the county’s online court records system, indicating that both charges were dismissed and the case closed.

“We ask for prayers for [el adolescente] and his family,” Powers said, adding that his client remains in the hospital to receive treatment for his injuries.

The SAPD said it is investigating the incident and will forward its findings to the Bexar County District Attorney, who said in a statement that his office’s Civil Rights Division would review the police shooting and charges against the teen.