Indiana man charged with strangling officer in daring escape attempt
Seymour IN. June 6 2021 A man is behind bars after police say he escaped from custody at a southern Indiana hospital, strangled an officer and jumped out of a third story window.
According to police, Jackson Hatchett, 27, of Brownstown, Indiana, was being discharged from the Schneck Medical Center in Seymour on Monday afternoon when police say he “overpowered and assaulted” a Jackson County Sheriff’s Department corrections officer.
The officer was working security and was attempting to keep Hatchett in custody on outstanding charges, the Seymour Police Department said in a Facebook post.
The officer “received multiple injuries” and lost consciousness when Hatchett strangled him. Hatchett then barricaded himself inside a bathroom before jumping out of a third story window to a roof on the second floor, police said.
“We don’t know exactly how he was able to break the window at this point,” Seymour Police officer Jeremy Helmsing said. “We believe he used some kind of device inside the room. Whether that was shackles or something he found nearby. He was in process of changing, getting ready to be released.”
Hatchett was finally cornered by security in a mechanical room near the roof and taken into custody, when backup arrived. Police said Hatchett was treated in the hospital emergency room for “several lacerations to his arms,” receiving multiple stiches, before being taken back into custody.
The corrections officer who was strangled by Hatchett was also treated for injuries, but he is expected to recover.
None of the hospital’s staff members were injured.
Schneck released a statement later in the day, saying, “With regards to today’s events, the community can be assured that patient and visitor safety is Schneck Medical Center’s top priority. The quick-thinking actions of all involved ensured that no patients or visitors were harmed during the incident.”
Hatchett was charged with escape, battery with serious bodily injury, strangulation, theft and criminal mischief. He’s also facing outstanding meth charges from the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
“This is very uncommon,” Helmsing said. “This incident is one of the only, that I can remember, that has happened here at the hospital. There’s usually pretty good security measures in place to prevent things like this.”
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