How George Pickering Fought for His Son's Life

“Hey, we need the police stat, to the hospital. We have a family member with a gun.”

This was the emergency call made by a staff member at Tomball Regional Medical Center on the day George Pickering of Pinehurst, Tex., became enraged and brandished a 9mm handgun while standing next to his son's hospital bed.

According to Gary Hammond, the head of criminal investigations at the Tomball police, Pickering was deeply upset about the medical treatment his son, George Pickering III, was receiving. The younger Pickering was in a critical condition on life support following a stroke, as reported by the Houston Chronicle at the time.

As per eyewitnesses, Pickering shouted, “I’ll kill all of you,” while poiting the gun towards hospital staff. In response to his alleged statement, “You don’t think that’s the only weapon I got," a nurse and Pickering's ex-wife left the scene.

Although another son present at the hospital promptly disarmed Pickering, he refused to surrender to the police. This led to a prolonged standoff with SWAT officers inside the hospital room, with Pickering maintaining his grip on his son's hand throughout the incident.

According to the Chronicle, after some persuasion, he was convinced to give himself up. As a result of the incident, Pickering was incarcerated on two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

One of the charges was dismissed, and the other was downgraded to a state jail felony. Additionally, Pickering received credit for the time he had already served, as reported by CNN affiliate KPRC.

With his release, Pickering has been presented with an opportunity for personal redemption. In an interview with KPRC, the father explained the reasons behind his decision to resort to violence on that day.

His motivation stemmed from his desire to keep his son life.

Pickering explained that due to his son's history of seizures, he was familiar with the medical protocols. He was also aware that despite the hospital's assertion, his son was not actually "brain dead."

Consider it a father's instinct. Something within Pickering urged him to believe that the hospital's decision to initiate a "terminal wean," a gradual withdrawal of life support, was incorrect. According to KPRC, there had even been prior communication with an organ donation organization regarding a potential organ donation.

“They were moving too fast. The hospital, the nurses, the doctors,” Pickering told KPRC. “I knew if I had three or four hours that night that I would know whether George was brain dead.”

According to Pickering, his attempts to communicate his concerns fell on deaf ears, leaving him with no alternative but to resort to an extreme measure — drawing a gun.

“At that point I had blinders on,” said Pickering, who admitted that he was drunk while the incident unfolded. “All I knew I just needed to have this time with George.”

His desperate plan proved effective. Throughout the tense hours when Pickering defied the requests of SWAT officers to vacate his son's room, he experienced his son squeezing his hand multiple times upon command. This confirmation of his son's responsiveness and the fact that he was not brain dead, contrary to the doctors' beliefs, prompted Pickering to surrender peacefully.

When approached by KPRC for a statement, officials at Tomball Regional Medical Center declined to comment on Pickering's specific case, citing privacy regulations.

Presently, George Pickering III enjoys good health and has made a complete recovery, which could be seen as a testament to his father's foresight. As reported by KPRC, the father and son now share an inseparable connection, engaging in a joint venture of running a small electrical engineering business and constructing their own home.

Upon discovering the details of the incident, the younger Pickering, who bears a striking resemblance to his father, was deeply moved.