Sheriff’s deputy accused in Denny’s death fired
Several others punished; Gonzalez says he still has ‘confidence’ in staff
The off-duty deputy who was charged with murder after her husband used a deadly choke hold on a man outside a Denny’s in May was fired Friday from the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office.
Deputy Chauna Thompson’s termination comes after a weekslong investigation into the death of John Hernandez. As a result of the investigation, several other employees also were disciplined.
One deputy received a one-day suspension and 30 days of probation. A sergeant was suspended for five days, transferred to a new assignment and ordered to complete additional training, authorities announced Friday. Another sergeant received a letter of reprimand and was ordered to complete additional training, while a sergeant received a letter of documented counseling.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez noted there was “no evidence of nefarious actions” for the on-duty personnel who worked the incident.
“I have strong confidence in the leadership of the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office, as well as the rank-and-file deputies who put their lives on the line every day to protect our community,” Gonzalez said. “However, we will learn from the tragic death of John Hernandez.”
Gonzalez said his office will continue reviewing
best practices to improving scene management and other aspects of operations.
The Hernandez family and their lawyer said Friday that they’re pleased that Thompson was fired but wish the sheriff ’s office reacted faster.
“We feel it should’ve happened since day one,” said Melissa Hernandez, who is a cousin of the man killed.
‘Should’ve taken conrol’
Public outcry began after a video surfaced showing Terry Thompson placing Hernandez in a choke hold just before midnight May 28 in the parking lot of a Denny’s restaurant in the 17700 block of the Crosby Freeway in east Harris County. The offduty deputy, who came to the restaurant separately to meet her family, was at her husband’s side.
The Hernandez family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the couple.
“When one looks at the video, you can clearly see that Chauna Thompson is there assisting her husband,” attorney Randall Kallinen said. “She is the sheriff deputy on the scene. She should be trained in proper uses of force, not force where someone is choked to death. Since she was the officer on the scene, she should’ve taken control of the situation.”
Hard to relive
A Harris County grand jury indicted the Thompsons last month on murder charges, alleging they caused Hernandez’s death by asphyxiation.
The family said at the news conference Friday they ultimately want to see the two convicted of murder. Melissa Hernandez said she is unsure what to make of Gonzalez not finding any evidence of wrongdoing by the on-duty personnel at the scene where her cousin died.
“I wasn’t there that night, so I can’t tell you,” she said. “For it to have taken this long, it’s kind of hard to believe that everything was done correctly, but if that’s what they came up with, (then) that’s their conclusion.”
Susana Santana, another relative of the family, said new developments in the case force the family to see replays of the tragic video.
“It’s very hard for everyone to keep reliving the same thing over and over again,” Santana said.