A case worker for the Arizona Department of Child Services who was strangled during a livestream is out of the hospital and recovering at home.
De’Andre Johnson is accused of nearly killing his daughter’s case worker in an unprovoked attack he livestreamed on Facebook, Arizona officials said.
On Nov. 5, Mesa officers responded to a 911 call about a man choking another man in the lobby of an office building.
When police arrived, they found the victim lying on the floor in an “altered state of consciousness,” officials said.
Johnson live-streamed a video on Oct. 31 expressing concerns about the case worker interviewing his 9-year-old daughter in a room.
Johnson said his daughter did not want to return to school the next day. Johnson was irate that the case worker was alone in a room with his daughter for an hour.
After speaking with the case worker in the lobby, the two men stood up and fist bumped each other. Johnson adjusted the angle on his cell phone before grabbing the case worker from behind and putting the man in a chokehold.
The victim was in the chokehold for 2 minutes and 30 seconds before witnesses intervened and Johnson released him.
Johnson stood over the victim and asked, “You’re still breathing?” before choking him again.
“It’s very difficult to watch,” DCS Deputy Director David Lujan told AZ Family. “I think what was really telling about the video is that case worker had more than an hour-long conversation where they are talking calmly. Things seem to be going OK, they fist bump to say good bye, and then just out of the blue this happens.”
Johnson was arrested and faces charges of first-degree attempted murder, aggravated assault of a DCS worker and unlawful fight charges.
CAUTION: Video contains scenes that may be disturbing to viewers.
JUST IN: Arizona father arrested for attempted murd-r after live-streaming his attack on a Child Safety worker who interviewed his daughter
De’Andre Johnson, 37, live-streamed his attack on a Child Safety worker after an hour-long interview about his daughter
Johnson claimed… pic.twitter.com/7h9H9B8Uxg
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) November 9, 2024
