Death of John Hernandez

On May 31, 2017, John Hernandez died after being strangled outside a Denny's in the Houston area. The death was ruled a homicide by the Harris County medical examiner on June 6th, 2017. Incident: The incident took place on May 28th around 11:40pm. Hernandez was supposedly urinating in public which sparked a confrontation between Hernandez and Terry and Shauna Thompson, a Harris County Sheriff's deputy, after Thompson pulled into the Denny's parking lot in the 17700 block of the Crosby Freeway with his children. A fight broke out between the two, unclear who initiated the altercation. Shauna Thompson arrived, off-duty, to meet her family where she saw the altercation and called for assistance from the Sherrif's office. Terry Thompson held Hernandez into a chokehold while his spouse pinned him down. Hernandez was seen kicking and screaming and then became motionless upon the arrival of medical personnel. Death: Hernandez was rushed to Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. where he was placed on life support and slipped into a coma. He died 3 days later at the age of 24 when his life support was removed. The caused of death was ruled by the Harris County medical examiner as lack of oxygen and chest compression caused by strangulation. John Hernandez: Was was the common-law husband of Maria Toral who he shared a daughter with. Shauna and Terry Thompson: Shauna Thompson is a Sheriff's deputy of the Harris County Sheriff's Department. Terry Thompson, 41, is married to Shauna Thompson. Video Release: Attorney Jack Carroll, the lawyer representing Hernandez's family, released a cellphone video at a news conference on June 5th, 2017. The 52-second video shows Terry Thompson holding Hernandez in a chokehold while Shauna Thompson pins Hernandez down. The video was released by an anonymous source. The video shows bystanders trying to block the videographer as well as telling the videographer that recording the altercation was illegal, with one bystander commenting that Shauna Thompson was a Sherrif's Deputy and she could arrest him for filming. Investigation: The investigation is currently being held by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said that internal affairs is looking into the incident. Reactions: Hernandez family is calling for "justice". There have been demonstrations by family and friends of Hernandez asking for an arrest. Shauna Thompson has been placed on administrative leave as of June 6th, 2017.