The Kendall County Sheriff's Department has launched an internal investigation into an alleged incident involving an off-duty deputy pulling a gun on a pregnant woman in a Walmart express lane.
Just one week from her due date, Nicole Thurmond said she feared for her life while checking out at a Walmart store in Oswego on a recent Sunday.
"I felt someone close behind me. He started being really rude and said, 'Don't you know how to count? You are holding up the whole store," Thurmond recalled.
Thurmond said she didn't know it at the time, but the man in plain clothes was off-duty deputy Craig French.
Thurmond's husband had been getting eggs at the time and said he could see his wife was upset when he returned to the checkout area.
"There was a guy in her face, yelling at her," said Jason Thurmond. "In an aggressive manner he steps toward me, and I just push him back to keep him away from my wife and myself, and before I knew it I just froze because he pulled out a gun."
Jason Thurmond said the man didn't show his badge, was "waving a gun in a store," and at one point asked them if they were on welfare.
"At one point I turned by back to him, because I was afraid if it did go off, at least it hits my backside and not in the front where my baby is," said Nicole Thurmond.
The couple said that only after he waved the gun did the man identify himself as a sheriff's deputy.
Jason Thurmond was arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery for the shove he admits he gave the deputy. The Thurmonds have since filed a formal complaint with the department.
"I'm a big believer in karma. Someday he'll be the one who can't move very fast. He'll see," said the expectant mother.
The Kendall County Sheriff's Department said in a statement the incident is under an internal investigation to determine if the deputy’s actions "are consistent with the rules and regulations of the Sheriff’s Office."
The investigation is separate from any criminal investigation by Oswego Police, the department said in a statement.
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