Man Fighting Charges After Cop Pulled Gun On Him At Wal-Mart
YORKVILLE, Ill. (CBS) -- A Montgomery man was in court Wednesday to fight charges he pushed a Kendall County Sheriff's Deputy at a Wal-Mart store in Oswego, and ended up having a gun pointed at his chest.
As WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports, Jason Thurmond, 38, stands charged with misdemeanor battery for allegedly shoving the off-duty Kendall County Sheriff's deputy – who Thurmond did not know was a police officer – at the Oswego Wal-Mart on Super Bowl Sunday.
LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports
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Thurmond is fighting the charges.
"Whenever someone pulls a gun, and the person he points it at gets charged, that's wrong," said Thurmond's attorney, Richard Irvin, who also is an Aurora alderman.
Thurmond was in court Wednesday, but the case was continued to give Wal-Mart time to get the video of the incident together.
Thurmond said it all started with an argument between the officer, who was in street clothes, and Thurmond's pregnant wife, over how many items she had in the checkout line in the Wal-Mart at 2300 Route 34 in Oswego. Thurmond had stepped out of line and returned, he says, to find the man yelling at his wife.
Thurmond told the man to get into another line. At that point, Thurmond, who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and 355 pounds according to court records, said the off-duty deputy stepped toward him.
Thurmond admits he then shoved the deputy. At that point, the officer pulled out his gun and pointed it at Thurmond's chest, Thurmond said.
At that point, the officer drew his gun, leading confused shoppers to call 911. The officer can be heard ordering Thurmond to "get on the ground" in the background o fht etapes.
Thurmond has filed a complaint with the sheriff's office. Irvin said the entire incident was from a ridiculous argument.
Thurmond's wife has since delivered her baby, and both mother and baby are fine, Irvin said.
The Aurora Beacon-News contributed to this report, via the Sun-Times Media Wire.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
