U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson was tackled to the ground by law enforcement officers at a rodeo north of Amarillo last month after he attempted to provide medical care to an attendee, according to bodycam footage released Monday.
The video appears to show Jackson (R-TX) in a heated exchange with Carson County deputies. Although some of the video has no sound, in some portions of the footage, Jackson can apparently be heard hurling obscenities at the officers and shouting that he is a trained doctor.
Jackson was tackled to the ground by officers, handcuffed, and briefly detained.
“You were a f***ing full-on d***!” Jackson told the officers in the video. “You better recalculate, motherf***er!”
The deputies countered that Jackson is not an EMT and claimed he was told to back off, but the congressman denied that he was told to move away.
“I’m gonna call the governor tomorrow, and I’m gonna talk to him about this s*** because this is f***ing ridiculous,” Jackson continued.
Jackson, who served as the White House doctor for former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, responded to the footage Monday, saying he said he was glad to see it was released. The congressman has insisted he was in the right for providing care to the 15-year-old girl at the rodeo who was reportedly having a seizure.
“I’m glad the video is out,” Jackson posted on social media. “It shows the incompetence of the authorities and their complete disregard for the young girl in distress. We have the best Sheriffs in the country here in the panhandle and north Texas. Unfortunately, the Sheriff in Carson County is not among them.”
“I will apologize for my language, but I will not apologize for getting upset & speaking my mind considering the circumstances. If I had to do it again, I would still step up & act in a life-threatening situation. I will ALWAYS help someone in need. I WILL NOT apologize for that.”
The incident took place at the White Deer Rodeo on July 29.
According to the sheriff’s incident report, which The Texas Tribune obtained through a public information request, deputies were attempting to clear the area for EMTs. The report claimed Jackson ignored four requests by officers for him to clear the area before he was arrested.
The report also states that Jackson threatened to “bury” Carson County Sheriff Tam Terry in the next election.
One deputy reported that Jackson was seen drinking at the rodeo, an allegation that the congressman denied in a statement after the incident. Jackson’s office provided the Texas Tribune with an additional statement on Friday in response to the sheriff’s report.
“Congressman Jackson was not drinking and was prevented from giving medical care in a potentially life-threatening situation due to overly aggressive and incompetent actions by the local authorities present at the time of the incident,” said Kate Lair, a spokesperson for Jackson.
“Again, he was asked to help the teenager when no other uniformed medics were present. Congressman Jackson, as a trained ER physician, will not apologize for sparing no effort to help in a medical emergency, especially when the circumstances were chaotic and the local authorities refused to help the situation.”