TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple Police Department learned that former police officer and Temple ISD school resource officer Jerrod McCoy was arrested on August 7 in Williamson County on charges of injury to a child. McCoy resigned from his position with the Temple PD on August 4, according to the Temple PD.
An affidavit in the case reports that McCoy intentionally struck his 4-year-old son's face leaving an abrasion to the face and a bloody nose. The incident happened June 28 at a Bass Pro Shop in Round Rock, where police arrived at in reference to a disturbance shortly before noon.
When asked what happened, McCoy told police "he was only disciplining his son" and denied ever hitting his son. The reporting official noticed the child had a "small, visible abrasion on his left cheekbone, less than a quarter inch in size and fresh blood stains on the right side of his face and T-shirt consistent with a nose bleed," according to the document.
McCoy reportedly told the officer the abrasion was from "the child tossing himself around in the cart and that it is not unusual for the child to get nose bleeds."
A witness said he saw McCoy spank the child as the boy "continued to yell and scream loudly," drawing the attention of people in the store. The witness said that as McCoy and his son exited the store, he saw McCoy "strike the child in the face two times," according to the affidavit.
A review of cameras at the store by officials revealed two physical interactions between McCoy and the child. In one interaction, according the affidavit, McCoy spanked the 4-year-old. The second interaction on video shows McCoy striking his son in the face, causing the child to fall backwards in the shopping cart. A store manager, who said he saw McCoy hit the child, said McCoy "hit the child in the face with a backhand causing the child to 'reel' backwards."
McCoy is no longer a City of Temple employee and was not an employee at the time of his arrest. He had been a Temple Police Officer since 2015, according to the Temple PD.
As a school resource officer for Temple ISD, McCoy rotated between four campuses in the district including: Western Hills, Kennedy-Powell, Jefferson and Hector P. Garcia elementary schools. Temple ISD was notified by Temple Police Department Monday morning that Officer McCoy was arrested in another county — though district officials were not initially made aware of the charge.
“I was informed this morning that he resigned from Temple PD, and he will, of course, no longer be a part of Temple ISD.” Temple ISD Superintendent Bobby Ott said “This person won’t be around our students.”
The criminal investigation was conducted by the Round Rock Police Department. The Temple Police Department was not involved in that investigation and does not have information to provide about the case, according to the Temple PD.
McCoy bonded out with a bond that was set at $30,000, according to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office.
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