Two police officers called to aid a harried bus driver in Georgia have been suspended after video footage from the vehicle showed the officers swearing at middle school students.
Officers John Gurrieri and Steven Collins of the Dalton Police Department boarded a Dalton Public School bus full of middle school students on Nov. 11 after its frustrated driver called 911 on her unruly passengers, according to local reports.
After boarding the bus, the officers repeatedly swore at the students in an apparent effort to get them to settle down. Footage of the incident obtained by various media outlets clearly depicts the exchange.
“You want to act like a bunch of hellions?” Gurrieri tells the students on the tape, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen. “[The bus driver] can’t f****** focus on what she’s doing. What if she flipped the bus over? Or hits somebody? You think it is f****** funny when you’re hurt or when someone else is hurt? What’s funny then?”
Collins can later be heard yelling at a student pulled off the bus and calling him a "jackass," the outlet notes.
This profanity-laced tirade goes on for several more minutes before the officers eventually leave the bus.
However, at least one parent did not find the officers' comments helpful. The parent complained to the Dalton Police Department prompting a review of the incident, News Channel 9 reports.
"The officers are very remorseful," Dalton Police Chief Jason Parker said, according to NBC affiliate WRCB. "They understand what impact this has had on their reputation. They understand what impact this has on the credibility of the agency."
Both officers were suspended without pay for two days. They were given written reprimands and are required to do 40 hours of community service in support of local youth programs, according to the report.
"No disciplinary action was taken against any of the students aboard the bus,” Craig Harper, chief administrative officer with the school system, told the Daily Citizen.