An 8 year old choked to death at lunch in Lindale, and her parents have released the school video because they say it leaves out how long she waited for help

The video is five minutes long, measured from the moment Adrian Thompson stood up from her lunch table at about 11:40 in the morning on April 15 to the moment her principal called 911 at about 11:45. Her parents have now put those five minutes in public, on national television this week, because they say what the official investigation concluded does not match what the camera recorded.

Adrian began choking in the cafeteria of Velma Penny Elementary in Lindale, in east Texas. The footage shows her heaving and coughing into a napkin, holding her hands near her throat, and walking to a supervising employee. The Texas Rangers, in their own report, wrote that her demeanor and actions appear to be those of someone coughing or choking. The employee, according to the police report, appears to have misunderstood, thought she needed to vomit, walked her toward a trash can and asked whether she wanted to go to the restroom. Adrian ran back into the cafeteria seconds later, waving her arms at the same employee, ran out again, and then sprinted down the hall to the nurse's office on her own.

The nurse told police the girl was pointing to her mouth and trying to speak before she began to turn blue in the face. The nurse began the Heimlich maneuver, used an anti choking device and started CPR when she could not find a pulse. The Rangers' report noted that the device used on the 8 year old had an adult sized mask. Adrian was taken to hospital and died on April 16. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death accidental, caused by choking, and the Rangers concluded no criminal offense had been committed.

Her mother, Anna Thompson, said the family would still be devastated if the footage had shown adults helping right away, but that is not what the footage shows, and people need to know about it. The family wants an independent investigation by Rangers from outside the county, and questions whether witnesses were interviewed. The Lindale school district says it has updated its safety procedures and added staff training since April, and its superintendent has said the district will seek an independent review of its safety equipment and emergency response. A small, peaceful protest stood outside the school on October 26. The Rangers' finding settles the criminal question. It does not settle the one her parents are asking, which is what the adults in the room understood, and when.