BURLESON COUNTY, Texas — This article has been corrected with the proper legal terms. Guilt or innocence is not determined in a civil case. Baucom was convicted in criminal court for his actions.
Chester Jackson Jr., the man who ended up on life support after a stay at the Burleson County Jail in 2019, has lost a civil case against former Caldwell police sergeant, Robert Baucom.
Baucom was accused of pushing Jackson in his cell while Jackson was shackled and handcuffed. A jury found Baucom did not use excessive force. But that's not stopping Jackson's family or his lawyer from seeking justice.
KAGS first released the video of what happened in the jail cell back in 2019. Jackson was first brought to the Burleson County jail after being arrested for public intoxication. Days later, he would be put on life support.
Jackson’s attorney U.A. Lewis said it was Baucom's actions that led to Jackson being hurt and later, incapacitated. Lewis said Baucom pushed Jackson, causing him to fall back and hit his head against a toilet.
Baucom claimed Jackson tried to grab his genitals while he was holding Jackson. When Baucom stepped back to avoid the interaction, that's when Jackson fell, he claimed.
"This officer's defense to picking up Chester and throwing him was that was the fact that he said he was going to have a conversation and talk to him 'like hey buddy calm down'," Lewis said. "Chester, he claimed, as he was picking him up to do that grabbed his testicles and squeezed them and that was his defense to throwing Chester."
Currently a criminal case is still pending against Jackson for the alleged assault of a public servant. The Austin jury decided Baucom’s force was not excessive, however, Lewis said she believes the jury is confused about some evidence.
"You have to weigh the force against the need for force to determine whether the force is excessive or not,” Lewis said. “In this case, we believe that there was never a need for force."
Lewis believed the video evidence is enough for a Fifth Circuit court appeal.
“That's why we're going to ask the court to reevaluate the case, potentially leading to a new trial or have a fifth circuit to reevaluate the case as a whole," Lewis said.
She said if the Fifth Circuit does not give them a what they call a proper answer to the case, the United States Supreme Court will be the next step.
Lewis from the beginning of taking on the case maintained this is not a case about racism. She said it is simply about right versus wrong. Baucom was charged in connection to the case by the Burleson County District Attorney's Office. He had to surrender his peace officer's license and can no longer be a law enforcement officer. However, this information could not be disclosed in the civil lawsuit due to the nature of the plea.
Jackson remains in a rehab center at this time.
"His prognosis is really undetermined right now. He remains in a state of where he's not verbal and he's still bedridden. So, you know, we just don't know what the progress is going to look like. We just are happy that he doesn't regress, " Lewis said.
Lewis remains optimistic and hopeful that in the end, justice will be served in Jackson’s favor.
To read a timeline of events connected to the civil case and to hear and watch audio and jail recordings, click here.