Baton Rouge police officer wrote a heartbreaking Facebook post 2 weeks before he was killed
His death was made even more tragic when Facebook users uncovered a heartbreaking message Jackson posted on July 8, less than two weeks before his death.
The post was published three days after the death of Alton Sterling - a black man who was fatally shot by Baton Rouge police - and one day after five policemen in Dallas, Texas were killed at the end of a peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration.
"These are trying times. Please don't let hate infect your heart," Jackson wrote. "This city MUST and WILL get better."
Jackson also alluded to the difficulties of being a black man and a police officer.
"I swear to God I love this city but I wonder if this city loves me. In uniform I get nasty hateful looks and out of uniform some consider me a threat," he wrote. "I've experienced so much in my short life and the past 3 days have tested me to the core."
Jackson's father-in-law, Lonnie Jordan, described him as a "gentle giant" who was "always about peace," according to The Associated Press. Jackson's brother called him "a protector" who "went above and beyond" and was dedicated to "God, family and the police force."
He is survived by his wife and 4-month-old son.