Texas park ranger pushed into lake while trying to enforce social distance regulations
A Texas park ranger was pushed into a lake while trying to enforcing social distancing regulations in Austin.
The plunge was caught on camera at Lake Austin on Thursday, with the clip beginning as the ranger seemingly politely asks a group of parkgoers to disperse and keep six feet apart to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
But then a shirtless man, identified by police as Brandon Hicks, 25, can be seen running up and shoving the ranger, sending both into the water.
Hicks is then allegedly recorded jumping out and running off into the distance.
Hicks was arrested and faces charges of attempted assault on a public servant, according to the local NBC affiliate.
“Brandon’s intentional and reckless action could have caused the Ranger to strike his head on the dock as he was falling, and render himself unconscious in at least 3 feet of water where he could have drowned to death,” the arrest affidavit said, according to the outlet.
The person who recorded the video told the outlet that they were happy the culprit was caught.
“The park ranger was actually being really sweet and understanding before,” the video-taker said.
The incident comes as officials across the country grapple with keeping crowds at bay as warming weather attracts residents in locked down states to public parks and beaches.
In New York City, cops flooded city parks to enforce social distancing rules across the city, with one resident complaining of “Orwellian” levels of surveillance.
Photo Credit: Austin Police Dept