FORMER CALDWELL POLICE OFFICER PLEADS NO CONTEST, PLACED ON PROBATION FOR OPPRESSION CHARGE

  

A former Caldwell police sergeant has been sentenced to a year of probation after pleading no contest to a charge of Official Oppression in the case of Chester Jackson, Jr.

Robert Riley Baucom, who entered the no-contest plea Monday, was sentenced to one year of deferred adjudication probation and ordered to pay a $750 fine, court costs, and a Crime Stoppers fee.

According to the Burleson County Sheriff’s Office, Baucom will also have to perform 75 hours of community service restitution, undergo drug and alcohol evaluation and an anger management program, and maintain no contact with the victim. In addition, he will surrender his peace officer’s license.

Baucom was indicted in June 2019 by a Burleson County Grand Jury in connection to his handling of Chester Jackson, Jr. at the Burleson County Jail. The indictment stated Baucom knowingly committed unlawful mistreatment of Jackson, shoving him while his hands and legs were restrained.

Jackson’s attorney, U.A. Lewis, has criticized Baucom and the Burleson County Sheriff’s Office for the handling of Jackson, whose case began in April when he was arrested at his home by deputies on a public intoxication charge. After a brief stay at the county jail, he was transported by deputies to Cross Creek Psychiatric Hospital in Austin.  After losing consciousness there after being sedated and put into a hold, he was then taken to St. David’s Hospital in Austin in critical condition.

According to a prepared statement by then-District Attorney Julie Renken, a grand jury found no evidence that Baucom’s actions caused Jackson’s medical condition.

Jackson continues his recovery to this day.