Former deputy pleads guilty to oppression in encounter with domestic violence victim
A former Williamson County deputy has pleaded guilty in connection to an encounter he had with a female domestic violence victim. Lorenzo Hernandez entered a guilty plea to official oppression on Tuesday in the 368th District Court in Williamson County. Judge Rick Kennon gave him six months of deferred adjudication, according to court records.
The victim said Hernandez grabbed her and threw her to the ground without cause after responding to a call about domestic violence at her Northwest Austin apartment on Sept. 21, 2019, according to an arrest affidavit.
Hernandez's attorney, Douglas O'Connell, declined to comment on Tuesday. If Hernandez successfully completes the terms of his adjudication, which include community service, then he will not be convicted of any crime.
Hernandez also was initially charged with assault in connection to the incident but the charge was dismissed after a grand jury no-billed it on March 31.
More:A domestic violence victim says in lawsuit that Williamson County deputy assaulted her
The victim filed a federal civil lawsuit against Hernandez in 2021 claiming he assaulted her. The lawsuit is still pending. Her name is not being used because she is a victim of domestic violence.
Official oppression is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine. A public servant is guilty of official oppression if while doing their job they intentionally subject another person to mistreatment or to arrest, detention, search or seizure that they know is unlawful, according to the Texas Penal Code.
Hernandez was once featured as a Williamson County sheriff's deputy on the reality TV show “Live PD” and voluntarily left the force in late 2020.
He and other deputies were called to the victim's Northwest Austin apartment on Sept. 21, 2019, after neighbors called 911 about a possible domestic violence incident, the affidavit said. The apartment is in part of Austin that is in Williamson County.
The victim's boyfriend had choked her and left her unconscious, the lawsuit said. It said she regained consciousness before deputies arrived.
She told the deputies that her boyfriend was gone and that she wanted nothing to do with law enforcement and didn't want officers coming inside her home, according to the affidavit.
It said body camera footage showed that Hernandez grabbed the woman and threatened to use his Taser on her while she was screaming. Hernandez and two other deputies slammed her to the ground and handcuffed her while they searched her home, the footage showed, according to the affidavit.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Former deputy pleads guilty in encounter with domestic violence victim
