AUSTIN, Texas — A family wants to know how their loved one, 30-year-old Chester Jackson Jr., went from the Burleson County Jail to a psychiatric hospital in Austin and ended up in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at St. David's.
Jackson's lawyer, U.A. Lewis, and family said they still haven't gotten the answers they're looking for.
Friday night, Lewis said Jackson is out of the ICU and stable.
Body camera footage, in addition to the 911 call from the psychiatric hospital he was held in, shows some of the events leading up to Jackson's hospitalization.
Starting on Friday, April 19, Jackson's family said he was having a mental crisis and Lewis said the family called for help.
Body camera footage shows a Burleson County sheriff's deputy interacting with the family.
"He's sick ... he's sick, he's mentally sick," a voice says to the deputy.
The deputy asks Jackson, "Are you willing to go to the hospital?"
Jackson responds, "Yes."
After being asked again, our sister station KAGS reported that Jackson's lack of an answer is why deputies said they believed he was on drugs.
Jackson was booked into the Burleson County Jail for public intoxication.
The next day, body camera footage shows Jackson being moved to another cell by four officers/deputies. That's when, allegedly, a Caldwell police officer appears to throw Jackson to the ground. Jackson hit his head against the metal bed frame and toilet on the way down.
Lewis said the next day, deputies took him to Cross Creek Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Northeast Austin.
Four hours later, a 911 call came in saying Jackson had stopped breathing.
The 911 operator asked, "They just said he's not breathing, correct?" to which the caller replied, "Correct."
In the call, staff with the hospital said he was given sedatives and put in a hold.
"He became agitated," the caller said. "He was given two mg [milligrams] of Avitan, 10 mg of Haldol and 50 mg of Benadryl."
Nurses began CPR, and Jackson was rushed to St. David's. He was placed in the ICU.
It is not known at this time what caused Jackson to stop breathing.
Lewis noted Friday at a press conference that the substances used are standard, according to professionals.
Now, Lewis and Jackson's friends and family just want answers.
"Nobody should have to end up here this way, on a charge that was never even officially brought against him. He should've gotten the necessary mental health treatment he deserves," Lewis said. "The fingers are now pointing in more directions, not in a different direction."
In a statement, Burleson County Sheriff Thomas Norsworthy said: "...We have held Mr. Jackson's safety and well-being in [the] highest regard as we would for any member of the community. The Burleson County Sheriff's Office is committed to conducting a full and complete investigation into the actions and circumstances that have resulted in the current condition of Mr. Jackson ..."
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