Mijente is bringing attention to the on-camera murder of John Hernandez, a young 24-year-old Latino father who was choked to death in front of his daughter at a Denny’s outside of Houston, Texas, with a billboard that says, “Justice for John Hernandez: He was a father, a son, a friend.”
Terry Thompson and his wife, Shauna Thompson, an off-duty sheriff, will appear in court this Friday, July 14th, for pinning Hernandez to the ground, choking him to death, an act caught by a bystander on film despite others trying to block the camera from recording.
Witnesses say Thompson refused to let go of Hernandez even as he turned blue and his three year old daughter shouted, “Quit hitting my daddy.”
It wasn’t until after the Hernandez family held protests that the Thompsons were formally charged, a week later from the choking incident.
Based on their complaints, at least eight deputies are now being investigated by their department for the handling of the case including allegedly placing Hernandez’ wife in the back of the police car, taking away her phone, and initially pursuing assault charges against the unconscious Hernandez instead of the couple who choked him.
The billboard that will be up from today through Sunday aims to support the Hernandez family in raising awareness of the case and ensure that public attention leads to justice.
Mijente is a national Latinx racial justice organization. The billboard is located on the I-10 eastbound before the 610 interchange.
