The family of a man who died in Irmo police custody demanded answers on Tuesday about what happened during his arrest in June.
“We have a great deal of questions,” Strom Law Firm attorney Bakari Sellers said at a press conference Tuesday. “We come to you today asking the Irmo Police Department to display full transparency.”
Forty-five-year-old Byron Jackson was arrested on June 22 when Irmo police officers responded to a call about a possible fight inside a vehicle in the New Friarsgate area.
In a release, the Irmo Police Department said they chased Jackson's car to a nearby Dollar General on the 7800 block of Broad River Road.
Jackson was the only person in the vehicle, and police said he “engaged in an altercation with officers before being taken into custody.” A department press release said Jackson had trouble breathing after being restrained.
Irmo Police said emergency services were immediately called, and “EMS personnel initiated life-saving measures, including CPR, while transporting (Jackson) to the hospital.”
A day after on June 23, the Irmo Police Department asked the S.C. Law Enforcement Division to conduct an independent investigation after hearing Jackson was in critical condition.
Sellers said Jackson died in the hospital on June 25. An official cause of death has not been released.
Sellers said body and dash camera footage were recorded but also have not been released yet.
“This can be fixed pretty quickly if they release the body cam video or at least allow the family to come over and view it,” he said. “We can tell you whether or not there were some shenanigans at play."
The Irmo Police Department declined to comment, citing the ongoing SLED investigation.
Two officers have been placed on leave pending the investigation.
“He loved his kids. He loved his family,” Damon Jackson, Jackson’s brother, said at the Tuesday press conference. “We just want to know what happened.”
