Dallas County Sheriffs Show Video Of Jail Lobby Death
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It's a fact that on the morning of August 1, 2015 Joseph Sheldon Hutcheson entered the lobby of the Dallas County Jail. Exactly what happened before Hutcheson lost consciousness and died there is a matter on contention.
Initially, Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez publicly sought out people who were in the lobby and on August 14 said video of the incident would not be released because it would, "... compromise the investigation because witnesses could change their statements based on what they see in the media."
But on Friday, Sheriff Valdez called a press conference at the Frank Crowley Courts Building and showed the video to the media for the first time. CBS 11 News was there after Hutcheson's family met the Sheriff earlier in the day to view the video surveillance. During the press conference Sheriff Valdez said they had shown the family the video first as courtesy.
After offering condolences to the family the video was then played for journalists. On the tape people can be seen turning, looking and moving away when Hutcheson enters the lobby. The video did not have audio. Shortly after entering, deputies go to Hutcheson and have some sort of interaction. They then leave his immediate area in the lobby.
When deputies return a second time there appears to be some type of scuffle and Hutcheson's legs can be seen flailing. The video later shows deputies turning Hutcheson on his back and ends when they begin performing CPR.
♦♦♦ Click Here To Watch On The Sheriff's Department Website ♦♦♦
Just days after Hutcheson's death, a spokesperson for the Dallas County Sheriff's Department had said the 48-year-old man was behaving erratically and couldn't be calmed, so deputies had to restrain him.
In their description weeks ago, officials said Hutcheson, who'd been an inmate at the jail from February to July of 2014 for public intoxication and evading arrest convictions, ran into the lobby screaming. According to deputies, he first went to the jail's south tower yelling that his wife was after him and trying to hurt him. They said he then went to the jail lobby and claimed she was trying to kill him.
In press release statements and past interviews, Sheriffs officials detailed how at some point after being handcuffed Hutcheson complained he couldn't breathe. They said deputies uncuffed him but he lost consciousness and CPR was performed until Dallas Fire Rescue paramedics arrived. Hutcheson was taken to Parkland Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office has not yet determined Hutcheson's cause of death.
After showing the video on Friday, Sheriff Valdez explained that there were between 40 and50 people in the lobby on the morning of August 1. She again asked that any member of the public who was in the lobby that day, who has not already spoke with them, contact the Dallas County Sheriff's Department Criminal Investigations Section at 214-653-3489 or 214-653-3490.
The Sheriff didn't take questions from the media, citing the fact that the investigation is ongoing.
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