CALDWELL OFFICER SHOWN ON VIDEO PUSHING INMATE IN JAIL
The attorney representing a Somerville man put on life support after a short time in the Burleson County Jail has shared video evidence of him being pushed to the ground in handcuffs by a Caldwell police officer.
The body camera video, which can be viewed here, shows two times where Chester Jackson, Jr. falls to the ground in the county jail. The first time, an officer lets go of Jackson’s arm, causing him to fall to the floor. The second fall shows Jackson as he appears to be shoved into a metal bed, hitting his head against a toilet. After the second fall, an officer tells Jackson, “Hey, you fell”.
The video was obtained Friday and released Tuesday by U.A. Lewis, the Jackson family attorney, after she filed an open records request with the county. The video shows the incident occurring Saturday, April 20th at 11:23 p.m.
Lewis said the video shows the Caldwell officer who was suspended throwing Jackson, causing him to hit his head. She also said the video shows the officer, whose name has not been made public, denying claims that he threw Jackson, instead saying he fell.
According to Caldwell Police Chief Charles Barnes, the officer has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. The Texas Rangers are assisting with the investigation.
The 30-year-old Jackson remains in an Austin hospital in critical condition, unable to speak but improving. Jackson was arrested April 19th on a public intoxication charge near his home by a Burleson County deputy. During his stay in the county jail, he was taken by a deputy to the hospital in critical condition.
Lewis does not believe this incident shown in the jail caused the severely injured condition that family members found Jackson in at the hospital.
The Burleson County Sheriff’s Office issued statements last week denying any wrongdoing in the case, and saying it is “committed to conducting a full and complete investigation”.
The suspect is in the care and custody of the officer. And the officer is responsible for his actions. What happened to protect and serve and innocent until proven guilty? This makes me sick.
I completely disagree…. I watched the video numerous times, and do not think he was “pushed”. The inmate was acting out and trying to get away from the guard and fell… Now saying that, the guard did NOT try to catch him, or keep him from falling, but I wouldn’t have either. This inmate was not pushed.
Your right that is not okay.And then they say why the inmates turn on them and act bad
He was definitely pushed. Wow! That is not okay.
I’m a big supporter of law enforcement but I can’t fathom an officer abusing a prisoner under his care….the inmate is handcuffed and totally at the officers mercy….this is terrible!
I am sorry to say that there are some in law enforcement who feel the rules do not apply to them. Whether is breaking the speed limit simply because they are in a police car and can get away with it when there is no emergency, or treating prisoners badly it is happening to often. It is obvious that something bad happened to this citizen while he was in the custody and control of the county. Not sure why the local police should have had this level of access once he was in the custody of the county, but this SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED! There needs to be accountability here and possibly an arrest.
This is so unfortunate for the victims family and this type of issue is happening far too often. It would benefit our counties to provide their law enforcement with the funds to provide extensive testing and research on applicants and continuous counseling and training of personnel for handllers of prisoners. Otherwise, the liability insurance premums for taxpayer supported agencies will continue to rise and we pay that bill. All county governments should take this tragedy as a call to correct the underlying problems faced by our law enforcement agencies.