--Police officer trips and pushes students after soccer match in Texas
--Officer George Bermudez, of the Georgetown Police Department, was placed on administrative leave after his actions at the girls' state championship game this weekend.
A Texas police officer tripped and shoved teenagers after a soccer match during an unacceptable power trip.
Students from Vandegrift High School in Austin rushed the field in Georgetown after their girls' team won its first state championship on Saturday.
Cell phone video shows the Georgetown Police Officer, identified as George Bermudez, trip one boy (who limped away), try to trip a girl, grab a third and shove a forth.
"I want to stress to the community that this behavior is not in line with the way we want to conduct business," Cpt. Roland Waits told the Daily News. "Know that we take complaints like this seriously."
Bermudez, who has been with the department since 2005, was placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.
"We started receiving emails on Sunday relevant to the incident Saturday," Waits said. "The emails had the YouTube video attached to it and the parents that wrote in were very concerned about the officer's actions."
Police Chief Wayne Nero issued a release saying that the matter was immediately forwarded to the professional standards division but that — despite the angered public's insistence — he cannot immediately fire Bermudez.
"As an executive manager, it is my duty to ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted," he said in the statement.
Nero entreated the public for patience while the investigation is conducted so that the "appropriate accountability can take place."
Authorities said that during the University Interscholastic League (UIL) championship game there were announcements over the loud speaker telling spectators to stay off the field.
But it's unclear why Bermudez apparently felt justified using force to restrain teens from celebrating a sports win. Bermudez is not allowed to discuss the incident with the media during the investigation.
"We will look into the actions and we want to make sure it gets done, timely, fairly and that it's transparent," Waits said.
Veronica Sopher, spokesperson for the Leander Independent School District, said she trusts that Georgetown Police and UIL will handle this incident.
“The thing that I’ve been trying to convey,” Sopher told The News, “is that we want to celebrate the success of our kids and what they put into the soccer season.”
