By Mihir Zaveri

Houston Chronicle

HOLIDAY LAKES, Texas — Medical examiners are trying to figure out what killed a man who authorities said attacked the Holiday Lakes police chief before he was subdued, found to be "unresponsive," and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Police said that Rosharon resident Jimmy Washington was "beating" and "banging" on house doors late Tuesday night in Holiday Lakes, a town of some 1,400 people 40 miles south of Houston, when police chief Harold Douglas arrived.

Douglas said Thursday he still had one foot in the car when he was charged at by Washington and knocked to the ground. The two men wrestled, Douglas said, when two nearby residents helped Douglas subdue Washington.

Within a minute, Washington was showing no signs of life, Douglas said.

"He struggled right on up until the point where we had him cuffed," Douglas said.

According to the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office, who is helping investigate the incident, Washington was in a state of "excited delirium" and may have been under the influence of a drug.

Galveston County Medical Examiners are requesting a blood toxicology report, which could shed some light on what substances may have been in Washington's system. Medical examiner spokesman John Florence said Washington's body showed no sign of trauma that would explain his death.

The incident happened about 11:40 p.m. Tuesday in the 100 block of Rocket Lane. Douglas — the only member of the Holiday Lakes Police Department — responded to a call for a disturbance and home invasion.

Brazoria County Sheriff's criminal investigator Stephen Buchanan said Washington was banging on one door, and then moved on to another house. Buchanan said as soon as Douglas shined his headlights on Washington, he ran toward the chief.

Buchanan said Douglas tried to calm Washington down, but Washington started taking off his clothes and attacking Douglas, punching him and kicking him, before Douglas and the two others were able to control Washington.

Brazoria County deputies arrived on the scene, and Washington received CPR and was taken to University of Texas Medical Branch's Angleton Danbury Medical Center, according to the sheriff's office.

Douglas said he only suffered minor cuts and bruises. He said he usually responds to traffic complaints in Holiday Lakes.

"I haven't had anyone that's attacked me like this," Douglas said.

Once the investigation is complete, the findings will be sent to the Brazoria County District Attorney's office for "presentation to a grand jury," according to a statement from the sheriff's office.



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