SAN ANTONIO — Erik Cantu's girlfriend, 18-year-old Emily Proulx, has hired his same attorney, Ben Crump. She was a passenger in the vehicle when Cantu was shot by former San Antonio police officer James Brennand in a McDonald's parking lot on Oct. 2.
A press release was sent out by the civil rights attorney on Friday morning, saying that Proulx was not physically harmed, but has suffered "extreme mental trauma."
It was first announced on Oct. 19 that Crump was representing Cantu. The first statement we received reads:
"It should go without saying that our children should be able to eat a meal in peace without being gunned down by police, but here we are –– yet again. Erik was unarmed and simply eating a cheeseburger when this officer violated his fourth amendment rights by opening his car door, violently accosting and shooting at him ten times."
KENS 5 has put together a timeline of the events. You can read that here.
This week, we also learned that a grand jury has formally indicted Brennand with attempted murder. The case will be handled by the civil rights division of Gonzales’s office, led by Daryl Harris. The unit typically handles cases of officer-involved shootings, custodial deaths and allegations of excessive use of force by law enforcement.
KENS 5 asked Harris how confident is he moving forward with the Brennand case.
“We are comfortable with our evidence to date,” he said. “And we are confident to pursue that evidence to whatever end that takes whether it be a resolution of agreement or a trial.”
“Justice means obtaining a conviction,” Gonzales added. “Justice means making sure that man never works as a member of law enforcement, making sure that man never has a gun or a badge.”
Ananda Tomas is with the group Act 4 SA, an activist group which has been demanding justice alongside the Cantu family. Reacting to the indictment of the grand jury, as well as the attempted murder charge, Tomas said she was relieved.
“And happy especially for the family," she said. "I think this is part of the community saying we are tired of not having accountability. And we are tired of police brutality.”