A bump, a step, a pointed finger — a brief moment near the tunnel at Kyle Field in College Station during the Texas A&M–South Carolina game. That was all it took for a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper to become the focus of national attention.
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A video shows a quick interaction between the trooper and South Carolina players following a touchdown celebration. The clip is short, the angle limited, and the context before and after isn’t yet known. But that didn’t slow anything down. Before the players were even back on the sideline, the clip was circulating on ESPN, X and TikTok — fast enough that the trooper was pulled from his assignment and sent home almost immediately.
It didn’t matter that Texas A&M mounted a comeback in the second half. The game faded. The gesture didn’t.
And as the reaction built, what stood out wasn’t the gesture itself. It was how quickly one small moment can shift the conversation around an entire agency — and sometimes around the profession. Moments like this have a way of becoming bigger than the space where they happened.
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And that’s where the real story begins.
The clip may spark the attention, but the real test comes in how the agency responds the next day. That’s the leadership moment. And it’s one every agency will face at some point.
What Police1 readers are saying
The Police1 Facebook community — officers, retirees, supervisors and fans — weighed in almost immediately. And while the comments covered a wide spectrum, they reflected the discussions happening inside agencies whenever something unexpected goes viral.
Here are some of the perspectives readers shared:
- “This is why we struggle with public support. It’s not the big things; it’s the everyday small stuff. It was a football game with college students!”
- “As a retired police officer, my view of what the trooper did was simply not a good look for police officers. I would like to see the officer’s actions about 30 [seconds] before and after the incident.”
- “As a law enforcement officer, regardless of who thinks who is wrong, that was a little much. He’s working the game. He shouldn’t have done that — plain and simple. I support law enforcement, but not those with a bad attitude.”
- “This is an embarrassment for law enforcement! We work hard at these events to keep everyone safe! It’s apparent this trooper was harboring a grudge on ‘his shoulder’ and let his ‘feelings’ show! Hopefully, we’re not all judged by this man’s bad actions!”
- “As a South Carolina trooper who’s worked many games there, I’ve never had a positive interaction with a player. The best method to deal with them is to just ignore them. They say things to you for a reaction. They are entitled and they will not do what you tell them to. With that said, I’m not taking the trooper’s side — the shoulder check was absolutely uncalled for. Is it an overreaction by everyone? Yes, it’s not that serious.”
- “Making a mountain out of a molehill of an issue. No reason for this to go this extreme on something so little. Talk to him, give him a written warning or something, but good grief — not all of this.”
- “Not a single interview has been conducted. No context has been provided. Nobody even knows what actually happened or why — yet they’re already calling for the trooper to be fired? So much for due process and ‘innocent until proven guilty.’”
In the clip below at the 15:30 mark, South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer briefly discusses the incident regarding the Texas DPS trooper with members of the media following his team’s loss to Texas A&M.
What matters the next day
Texas A&M Police and Texas DPS moved quickly to acknowledge the incident, confirm the trooper was relieved of his game day assignment and note that the Office of Inspector General is reviewing what happened. Those early steps matter — they show the agency is paying attention.
But the next day is where leadership lives. When a moment spreads this fast, the question becomes how to steady the situation without rushing conclusions or going silent.
And because we don’t yet know whether DPS or Texas A&M connected directly with the players or coaching staff, it’s helpful to look at what typically makes a difference when agencies face a moment like this:
1. Have a direct conversation if everyone is willing
This is one step agencies often skip, usually because it feels easier to let the moment pass. But when something gets this much attention, a quick conversation can go a long way. And no, this isn’t a formal meeting, a press conference or anything resembling a disciplinary hearing. It’s simply reaching out — often through leadership on both sides — to say, “Let’s walk through what you saw, what we saw and make sure nothing was misunderstood.”
2. Give the public a sense of what comes next
After an initial acknowledgment, a bit of process clarity helps calm speculation. People want to know what a review usually includes, who oversees it and when updates tend to be released. Agencies don’t need to share details — just enough to signal that the process is moving and not being handled behind closed doors.
3. Make sure everyone working together has the same expectations
Large events move fast, and different groups often work the same space with different assumptions. Some think their role is movement control, others see themselves there for security presence, and still others focus on access points. The next day is a good moment to revisit whether those expectations were shared — and whether anything needs adjusting for the next game or event.
4. Talk internally before outside conversations take over
By the time the next day arrives, the clip has already made the rounds – group chats, social feeds, text threads. Officers have seen it. Their friends and families have seen it. People inside the department have seen it. And most of them already have thoughts about what they watched.
That’s why a steady internal message matters. A quick update on what the agency knows so far, what’s being reviewed and what to expect next helps keep everyone grounded. It makes sure your own people hear from leadership before they hear it from everyone else.
It doesn’t need to be long; it just needs to be clear.
Follow-throughs matter
The follow-through doesn’t end the next day. Once the attention fades and the review is complete, agencies have a chance to answer a different question: What did we learn from this?
Moments like this can highlight gaps in communication, placement, expectations or coordination that don’t show up until something draws attention to them.
A clear update weeks or months later helps close the loop. That might include confirming the review is finished, sharing the pieces you can share and explaining whether anything changed as a result — from how game day assignments are briefed, to how roles are defined, to how movement in tight spaces is managed.
Even small adjustments in policy or practice are worth communicating. They show the moment led to something constructive instead of just becoming another viral clip that fades and gets replaced by the next one.
If you were making the call, what would your next-day response look like? Share below.
Police1 readers respond
- It is unfortunate that S.C. player #8 did not merely step to his left to let our trooper pass, but decided to collide with him. The trooper spoke briefly to the player about his juvenile antics. No further action is necessary.
- I have seen more things go bad on off-duty details in the last 36 years. And this is just another one.
- First thing I would do is get the trooper’s work history and see if this type of incident has any previous occurrences. I would also want him to understand he’s not getting fired immediately. Then I would get his version of the incident. What was he doing in the tunnel? What did he think his mission was? What did the player say to him? Why did he react in that manner? Was he provoked? Did he have any previous contact with this or any other player on either team? Was it a negative or positive contact? Then I would ask him what he thinks needs to happen — putting the onus on the trooper. Knee-jerk reactions are never productive in these types of situations. If I determined that disciplinary action may be necessary, I would inform him of this possibility. I would then remind him he is the face of the state DPS while in uniform and in this day and age with the technology everyone has to be more cognizant of this. A lie will circle the earth twice before the truth ever gets out of bed.
- I’ve handled comparably embarrassing missteps as PIO for a large State Patrol agency. Step one is to figure out what happened. That shouldn’t take six weeks for IA to interview a million witnesses. Talk to the trooper and tell the university they need to step up and provide access to the player — soon. Hopefully, by talking with them separately, the department and the university can have them sit down for some legit reconciliation. That might not be your normal internal affairs process, but this is not a normal situation. Get union buy-in for what Obama called a “beer summit.” Tell the union, “You can stand on the contract and people will forever think badly of your member, or we can be creative and write a better final chapter.” Ideally, the goal (if all parties agree) would be for both men to say, “Hey … we got crossways in an emotional moment. We’re both adults. We’ve talked it through like adults and have no hard feelings either way.” That’s the only path by which this falls out of the media spotlight. If either party won’t agree, then go through the traditional IA process, arrive at a conclusion and publish it. I don’t know if Texas considers discipline disclosable, but the agency will not win if they don’t fully disclose. Either clear the trooper or impose appropriate counseling/training/discipline and be transparent about what you did.
- As a 22-year officer and an SRO for over half of my career, I know that you never make yourself bigger than the event, game or other job you are working. As I was watching the game with my family, I couldn’t believe my eyes as I watched the DPS trooper attempt to walk between the two players in the tunnel and then react so viscerally. It was almost as if the trooper had beef with the players. Even my daughter, who attends A&M and was sitting near the tunnel, texted me asking me to explain what happened. So, with all that being said, I agree with A&M PD dismissing the trooper from his duties and owning the incident so quickly. If I was in charge in Austin, on Sunday there would have been at least a press release giving some kind of an update so that DPS is controlling the narrative and reducing speculation. Without knowing what really happened, all we can go on are the optics and they don’t look great. Unless there was a crime being committed, the trooper should not have inserted himself in any way. I don’t think he should be fired, but I would give him days off and he would never get to work an event at A&M again. Off-duty is a privilege and I know a lot of officers that would take so much pride in working a game at Kyle Field — including myself. DPS, Texas law enforcement and A&M have a brand to protect and this kind of behavior has no place in our profession. I feel like this trooper can come back from this, but it will be a tough road.
