In a press conference on Monday morning, the two Irmo Police officers involved with the in-custody death of a suspect have been identified. On June 22, Byron Jackson of North Augusta was apprehended by Irmo Police following a chase that ended behind the Dollar General on Broad River Rd. in Irmo.
Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale played the 911 call and then revealed the officers identities as Officer John Parker and Officer Tyler Baker who are currently on administrative leave for the remainder of the investigation into Jackson’s death.
Chief Dale played body camera footage of Jackson exiting the van and arrest which eventually resulted with an officer and Jackson falling into a 20 foot ravine. Lexington County Sheriff’s deputies helped in the capture and to pull Jackson out of the ditch.
“Our biggest question today is how did Mr. Jackson die,” said Chief Dale. “We know he had no physical injuries.”
Based on the 911 call, at approximately 2 am on June 22, officers responded and believed that there may be two people having an altercation in Jackson’s van. When police arrived Jackson fled the scene leading officers on a chase that ended at the Broad River Rd. location. After running into a stack wooden pallets Jackson’s van became stuck though he continued trying to free the van to elude capture.
Jackson was the only individual in the van and eventually taken into custody. He complained of breathing problems and EMS was called immediately and treated Jackson on the scene. Jackson was taken to a local hospital where he expired three days later on June 25.
Since then the family has hired an attorney who is calling into question the police department’s account of events. Some of the questions is the time frame of events and body camera footage which the Irmo Police Department released today.
“This is still under an investigation by SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division),” said Dale. “You might ask why this took so long but as an active investigation SLED limits the amount of information we can give.”
