This is just a weird story. Former White House Physician Ronny Jackson, now a Republican member of the House, was at an annual rodeo outside of Amarillo, Texas Saturday night. Somehow, during the evening, Jackson found himself “briefly detained” by the local sheriff’s department.
What in the world happened here? It’s not clear but the details released so far are pointing to a very strange sequence of events. Jackson was at a concert at the White Deer Rodeo, an annual event about 40 miles outside Amarillo. Jackson was trying to help with a medical emergency.
The scene at the rodeo concert was described as a “very loud and chaotic environment” and during the chaos, Jackson was detained but not arrested. Rep. Jackson is a physician and a retired Navy rear admiral. He served in both the Obama and Trump White House. Jackson was trying to help a 15-year-old experiencing a medical emergency. A relative, who was a nurse, was helping the girl.
Statements from both Jackson’s office and the sheriff’s office were released Monday to The Texas Tribune.
The statement from Jackson’s office said he was attending the rodeo when he was “summoned by someone in the crowd to assist a 15-year-old girl who was having a medical emergency nearby.” When Jackson responded to the scene, he found a relative, who was a nurse, already helping the girl. Jackson asked if she needed help and she said yes, according to the statement, which noted there were “no uniformed EMS providers on the scene at the time.”
“While assessing the patient in a very loud and chaotic environment, confusion developed with law enforcement on the scene and Dr. Jackson was briefly detained and was actually prevented from further assisting the patient,” the statement said. “He was immediately released as soon as law enforcement realized that he, as a medical professional, was tending to the young girl’s medical emergency.”
The statement noted Jackson was sitting “in the stands during the entire rodeo, in full view of the assembled crowd, and was not drinking.” The statement was attributed to a “spokesman from congressman Jackson’s office” and provided by his communications director, Kate Lair.
So, it’s not a case of public intoxication of an elected official. He asked if the nurse needed help and she said yes. What did he do wrong that resulted in law enforcement detaining him? All that is being said is that the scene was loud and chaotic. That makes sense for a concert at a rodeo – most concerts anywhere are loud and it doesn’t take much for a crowd to get rowdy.
It isn’t clear who exactly detained Jackson. Everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else. The Carson County sheriff’s office was at the rodeo, as was EMS for White Deer and neighboring Gray County, who responded to calls that led to Jackson being detained. Carson County EMS referred questions to the sheriff’s office. EMS said they responded to multiple calls at the rodeo from Saturday night to early Sunday morning.
A Texas DPS spokesman said the agency had no comment.
Much ado about nothing? It sounds like it. Still, it’s unusual that a sitting congressman (and former White House physician) is detained and no one is explaining what in the world happened.
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