SOMERVILLE CITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS CONTROVERSIAL POLICE HIRING
A large crowd, including some protesters, is expected tonight at the Somerville City Council meeting.
According to KBTX-TV, residents have recently been expressing concerns about a new hire for the police department; former Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Chauna Thompson. Thompson was hired by Somerville police last year.
Thompson and her husband were charged in the death of a Houston man in 2017. The two were shown in a cell phone video restraining a man outside a restaurant. Thompson’s husband applied a choke-hold on the man, who died during the incident. Thompson, who was off-duty, was later fired from her job.
Charges against Thompson were later dropped. Her husband Terry was convicted on a murder charge and sentenced to 25 years.
According to Somerville Police Chief Craig Wise said Thompson served about five months but was fired about six months ago after the mayor and others in the community found out about her past. Now, the Chief says he is taking the employment option to the council to ultimately decide.
Wise said Thompson, who now goes by the last name Sheffield, didn't have any complaints when working in Somerville.
The council meets Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. at the Somerville Senior Center. Capacity will be limited inside due to COVID-19.
Fact: she was closely involved in this murder and did nothing to stop it. That alone should forever disqualify her from ever having employment in anything involving law enforcement. Either Human Resources with the city failed to do a proper investigation before hiring, or they paid no attention to her past. Poor city management.
The fact that she is even being considered is part of the reason we have riots and unrest right now…… police officers should be top tier human beings, not accomplices to murder, pretty disheartening to see people possibly ok with this
So it doesn’t matter anymore that a court of law has passed judgment. Or that we have thrown out rehabilitation of law breakers.
Or is it just because it’s a police man and it can be made political in our current environment.
She was found not guilty (presumed innocent) and served for 6 months with no complaints, but she is nonetheless presumed guilty by the city. So is any person who has ever been charged to be presumed guilty even if found not guilty and are therefore unworthy of making a living?
She stood by and watched her husband kill someone! And didn’t intervene!
I have always felt that the person who took the video in this case should also have been charged, Hiring this woman is a bad Idea , Have we NOT learned anything from recent events?
It is foundational to our society that people are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This lady has not been tried and found guilty by any court of law. She obviously passed through the city’s hiring process and the article states that she has not had any complaints in her current job. Why would the city even consider taking an employment action against her. I would argue that they may be putting themselves at risk for an employment related lawsuit if they try to fire her now. With all of the issues going on right now, maybe the time is right to show grace and come together as a community to show healing in the town and for this lady.
“Somerville Police Chief Craig Wise said Thompson served about five months but was fired about six months ago after the mayor and others in the community found out about her past.” I had to reread the story and especially the quoted sentence above about three or four times. What kind of background checks are done for law enforcement officers? Are references required, and if so, are they contacted? In my experience, an aide for a kindergarten class would be more thoroughly investigated. It is from statements (and actions) like these that many people lose their faith in police departments overall.