An Austin police officer, Cameron Caldwell, is under scrutiny after videos surfaced depicting what appears to be the officer hitting his young children. KXAN reported that a Williamson County probable cause affidavit describes surveillance footage showing Caldwell striking two children inside a bedroom. The incident reportedly took place at the officer's home in June.
According to the affidavit, mentioned by KXAN, Caldwell is seen in the video causing bodily injury to one child "by striking his buttocks and face with the defendant’s hand, or throwing his body into his bed," and in another incident "by striking his face with the defendant’s hand, or striking his body by throwing a toy at him." The affidavit further details that the child was hit with a toy "monster truck."
Caldwell turned himself into the Williamson County Jail and faces two charges of injury to a child. His attorney, Brad Heilman, indicated a readiness to scrutinize the evidence, telling KXAN, that he looks "forward to seeing the evidence and defending Officer Caldwell through the court process." In response, the Austin Police Department has placed the officer on restricted duty and begun an administrative investigation, as per its standard protocol.
Additional context from KVUE details the alleged abuse caught on an indoor security camera. The mother of Caldwell's children provided police with five videos, one of which included the distressing scene of Caldwell's 2-year-old son attempting to shield himself before being hit and dropped to the ground. After hitting his son in the face, Caldwell is said to have covered the child with a blanket. A separate interview with Caldwell's 4-year-old son revealed allegations of being hit and forced to do push-ups as punishment.
This case calls back to a previous incident involving Officer Caldwell, who faced a 45-day suspension in August 2016 for pepper-spraying a handcuffed man during South by Southwest (SXSW). The Austin Police Department has affirmed its collaboration with the Cedar Park Police Department in the current investigation involving Caldwell, as reported by KVUE.
