Gregory Robinson
A mother was filmed using her own daughter as a ‘human shield’ after a high-speed police chase.
Police in Houston, Texas, initially thought theft suspect Tenescha Selena Henry, 35, was holding someone hostage in a chokehold during the frightening incident on July 20.
They were shocked to discover that the girl was actually Henry’s daughter.
The mother had led police on a 25-mile car chase at speeds reaching 100 mph as she made ‘multiple unsafe lane changes and traveling the wrong way,’ police said.
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The car chase eventually came to an end in a parking lot on Cullen Boulevard when Henry ran out of gas
“At that point, I 100 percent believed that we had a hostage situation,” Deputy A. Peters told KTRK about the stand-off after the car chase. “I distinctly remember her at times saying, ‘Shoot! Shoot me! Shoot us!”
“She essentially got out of the vehicle, walked around to the front of the car, opened the passenger side door.”
“She grabbed an unknown female out of the passenger side and proceeded to grab her, take her out of the car where she, unfortunately, put her in what we would call a chokehold and put her in front of law enforcement.”
The harrowing exchange has had a lasting impact on Peters, who reflected: “To put your own family member, not to mention your daughter, right in front of that potential danger is just kind of crazy to me.”
Henry’s daughter was shouting at her mom to stop, Peters said. A third passenger was later found inside the car, who is believed to be Henry’s current or former romantic partner.
The teenage girl has been released to a grandparent.
“We found over 20 pieces of what we would call identifying information, so numerous cards, debit cards, credit cards, Social Security cards, health insurance cards, things like that, driver’s licenses,” Peters said.
“Further investigation revealed the identifying items were taken without consent and Henry had attempted to use the credit/debit cards,” police said.
“The driver failed to comply and pulled a juvenile passenger out of the vehicle. The driver proceeded to place the juvenile in a chokehold and position them as a human shield,” police said in a statement.
“During the standoff, Deputy Peters was able to position herself behind the suspect and utilize her Taser to safely subdue the suspect,” the statement added.
Henry - who remains in Harris County jail - has been charged with evading arrest, child endangerment and fraud. She is due back in court on Sept. 27.