Harris County Deputy Sheriff Chauna Thompson Charged With Murder And Fired
Have you heard of 24-year-old John Hernandez? What about Harris County Deputy Sheriff Chauna Thompson?
John Hernandez was at a Denny’s restaurant on May 28, 2017 in a town not far from Houston. Wait staff said he was celebrating his soccer team winning and was drunk, but he was not behaving belligerently. Chauna Thompson was off-duty and had just left Denny’s with her husband, Terry Thompson, when John Hernandez came outside the restaurant and urinated while standing close to the Thompson’s vehicle.
Terry beat John who landed on the ground and then Terry proceeded to place John in a choke hold and got on John’s back. Chauna, pinned down one of John’s arms. His other armed was underneath him. On her knees, Chauna yelled at Hernandez to “stay the f— down.” Her husband said to Hernandez: “Do you want me to hit you again?”
John’s wife and daughter were inside of the restaurant as the confrontation was happening. Hearing the commotion, they rushed outside.
John Hernandez
Melissa Trammell, a Denny’s employee, said she was standing next to John’s daughter and begged Terry Thompson to let go of John Hernandez. Hernandez “was kicking for his life, struggling. At first I thought it was legitimate,” Trammell told reporters after testifying before the grand jury. “He was just going to hold him down, whatever. When I seen the man turning purple, there was no letup. And [Thompson] looked me in my face and told me he’s not getting off him.”
After paramedics arrived, John Hernandez was rushed to the hospital. Some witnesses say that it took paramedics 40 minutes to arrive. John was brain dead, went into a coma and died three days later.
A by-stander filmed the incident. He retained an attorney before turning the video over to the Sheriff’s office.
The Harris County medical examiner said John Hernandez died from a lack of oxygen to the brain caused by chest compression and strangulation.
Terry and Chauna Thompson’s mugshots
On June 8, 2017, the Thompson’s were indicted for murder. At their first court appearance, Judge Kelli Johnson read them their rights. The couple will be given random urine tests and will not be allowed access to guns and they were ordered to have no contact with the victim’s family. They were released from jail after posting a $100k bond each. Chauna was suspended without pay.
The sheriff’s office also announced that one sergeant at the scene was suspended for five days; one deputy was suspended for one day and put on probation for 30 days; and two other sergeants received letters detailing their need for counseling or additional training.
John’s family has filed a civil lawsuit against the Thompson’s seeking over $1million.
Terry Thompson’s lawyer stated that Terry choked John in self-defense.
On Friday, July 21, 2017, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Chauna has been terminated from her job with the Sheriff’s Office.
Some Sources: New York Daily News
Deputy Charged In Deadly Denny’s Incident Has Been Fired.
This video was published on June 5, 2017 before the Thompson’s were charged.
Posted on 07/24/2017, in Cases, John Hernandez and tagged Chauna Thompson, Denny's, Houston, John Hernandez, Terry Thompson, Texas. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident 
I hope the court throw everything they can at them.Why do bullies have no respect for human life?
Hugs
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David,
Why do bullies have no respect for human life? That’s an excellent question. I’m not sure if they respect themselves or the lives of animals.
I discovered a website on adult bullying. It says that adult bullies have low self-esteem and the desire to have power over others to satisfy their own psychological shortcomings. They project their own self-hatred on others so that they sincerely believe that their victims deserve what they are getting.
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the internet has given a place for adult bullies to attack people…chat rooms are full of adult bullies has been my experience.
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Bill,
I’ve heard horrible things about social media, including Facebook and Twitter, and have experienced first hand about bullying on Twitter.
They know just how to bully so moderating bots won’t catch it.
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Makes me wonder what a jury will do with this case! Officers should be held to the highest standards of the law. These folks were WAY out of line. Departments need to amp up hiring requirements. There are far too many strange people becoming police officers.
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Hi Two sides! In this case, it’s the husband of a deputy who did the choking that killed John Hernandez. The wife, who was a sheriff’s deputy, assisted by pinning John’s arm down.
You’re absolutely right when saying that are far too many strange people being deputized. In the alternative, there are far too many members of law enforcement stressed out who take their frustrations out on the public.
Law enforcement agencies should provide an alternative to street duty even if it means rotating officers to different positions or different districts. If they can’t do that by way of contract, they should provide it to requesting officers as part of their FMLA policies.
It’s beyond time for resolutions.
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A small measure of justice for John’s family. So far. Let’s see how far this goes. My god what is wrong with people!!
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Mindyme,
Re:
There’s a lack of self-respect and respect for others. There’s a lack of respect for life. There’s a need to exercise unauthorized power. If Terry is not in law enforcement, he had no business retaining John for what would have been a charge of public indecency. If Terry felt that John was urinating too close to his vehicle, a disinfectant soap and water would have solved the problem.
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Jebus, she married him AFTER claiming he was a violent drug user.
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Mindyme,
She sure did and it sounds to me that he hooked up with Chauna while he was still with his fiancee’. I’d like to know about his career and professional background. I don’t think he learned how to apply that choke-hold accidentally.
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