BURLESON COUNTY, Texas — In a new video released to KAGS News by the attorney for Chester Jackson Jr., the former police sergeant accused of pushing Jackson down in his Burleson County jail cell admits to the act, then quickly backtracks and calls it "a slip of the tongue."
The Chester Jackson Jr. case
Jackson was arrested April 19, 2019 by a Burleson County deputy. He was taken to the Burleson County Jail and charged with public intoxication. On April 20, Robert Baucom, who was a sergeant with the Caldwell Police Department, came into Jackson's cell. Jackson was handcuffed and shackled and was on the ground.
He was then picked up by Baucom and Jackson is then seen falling back and hits his head on a metal toilet. Baucom can be heard on the video saying "you fell" to Jackson.
On April 22, Jackson ended up on life support after the Burleson County Jail transported him to Cross Creek Hospital in Austin. Currently, Jackson is in a rehab center and is still unable to communicate, according to his lawyer, U.A. Lewis.
Jackson family files lawsuit against Baucom
In February of 2020, Jackson's family filed a lawsuit against Robert Baucom and several others who were involved in the case. You can read about the details of the story here.
The civil lawsuit was heard in October of 2021. On October 14, 2021, a jury decided there was "insufficient evidence" that Baucom pushed Jackson in his cell. Despite losing the case, Lewis said she's not giving up on justice for the family.
“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," said Lewis. If it goes no where there, Lewis said she is taking it to the Supreme Court.
The new video
In the new video released to KAGS News on October 20, Baucom is being questioned about the incident just before the civil lawsuit trial took place. When asked by investigators "did you push him [Jackson]" Baucom shook his head and said "not even a little bit."
Baucom told investigators he wasn't asked about what happened in the jail cell until the sheriff's office came to him and said there were going to be protesters at the jail. He also said he watched the video, which was provided to him by the city attorney's office and also on the news.
"No one has asked me about Chester Jackson until the sheriff's office found out they were coming to protest," Baucom said in the video. "After... me pushing him, nah-no no no no no - after the video or whatever after him falling I've never heard anything else about me or him or our interaction until he (city attorney) told me they were being ... protesters."
After one of the investigators asked him about saying "me pushing him", Baucom shrugged it off.
"That was inadvertant," he said in the video. "That was just a slip of the tongue."
Baucom charged by Burleson County
Shortly after the investigation started, the Burleson county District Attorney's Office charged Baucom with official oppression. Baucom pleaded "no contest", which means he is not admitting guilt, but it is treated as a criminal conviction by the court. However, making that plea also means it could not be used against him in the civil lawsuit brought by Jackson's family.
Baucom was given one year probation, fines and 75 hours of community service. He was also required to surrender his peace officer's license so he won't be able to work as a law enforcement officer again.
Watch the full playlist of the Chester Jackson case on our YouTube channel.