On Apr. 8, Chericia Brown called 911 and reported her husband, Henry Brown, had damaged her car by ramming it and ripped cables out of the car. She also said her estranged husband followed her after they got into an argument while she was picking up her kids at daycare.
Back in January, Chericia Brown had obtained a domestic-violence restraining order against her husband. He was to have no contact with his estranged wife and was still in effect in April.
Deputy Sheriff Chad Tavenner, 27, responded to the call. He could have arrested Henry Brown for damaging his wife’s car as well as for breaching the restraining order. But according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, Tavenner did nothing; he did not even bother to file a report. Later that night, Tavenner responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the area. From what he was told by a witness, the deputy believed the vehicle was Henry Brown’s truck. Again he did nothing and did not even bother to inform Chericia Brown.
Tavenner was also found to have misled the sheriff’s office by lying about details of what happened.
Nine days later, on Apr. 17, Henry Brown went to a Chili’s restaurant and met his wife outside. He stabbed her 15 times and then ran over her with his vehicle. He also ran over two bystanders who came to her assistance. The three were taken to hospital where Chericia later died.
Henry Brown then went to the babysitter and picked up the couple’s children, ages one and four. He found the name of the hospital his wife was in from news reports. He then went to the hospital with his children and opened fire at deputies who were there. All the shots missed.
Brown fled with the kids and was pursued by officers. He eventually stopped his truck and shot and killed his two children before taking his own life.
Bay 9 reports deputies said they had never seen anyone so determined to kill someone. Henry Brown had spent a great deal of time tracking down his wife on the evening of Apr. 17. He had pretended to be another relative in order to obtain information she was at Chili’s.
At a press conference yesterday, Seminole County Sheriff Donald Eslinger said Tavenner not only violated the public’s trust but Chericia Brown’s trust. He added had proper procedures been followed, Henry Brown may have been in jail on Apr. 17. At the very least he probably would have been electronically monitored. The killings could have been prevented.
At the press conference, the sheriff’s office released bodycam and dashcam videos of the shoot-out at the hospital as well as a 911 call from the babysitter who described Henry Brown as being in a panic when he picked up his children.
The information about Tavenner’s inaction was forwarded to the state’s attorney who decided no charges will be laid.
