It always strikes me as a little odd when the visiting team brings their own police officers. I've seen that a few times here.

There was an incident at a game here in the Beaumont area either last year or the year before that resulted in a bench clearing brawl between both teams. Each team had their own police officers and there are some stories of confrontations between even them during the fight.

It's pretty normal around here when the visitors are from out-of-town. They escort the team to & from the game.

I cannot recall that I have ever seen that at the high school level where the visiting school brings their own police. If it does not happen, it is not something I have ever noticed. Usually there are enough GM people around that most places have almost no police or not a major presence.

Peace

Further update:

Arrest of two football prep officials still under investigation by LHSAA | Home | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, LA

I'm a volleyball official but if this were me I'm taking the rest of my crew off the field,suspending the game,and filing the appropriate reports with the state and my area.If I'm not getting cooperation from the cops I'm not going to argue about it just leave and deal with a boatload of paperwork.

I can't imagine being one of the guys that stayed and officiated the game after that. How do you look at your crew members again after that...? Because you know full well how they're looking at you going forward.

I wonder if it was a 7 man crew, who works together every week ... or if it was 7 guys hired separately. I think in either case, I would not continue working the game, but I can see, possibly, the likelihood of 5 guys sticking around to work the game might be higher in the latter than in the former.

Of course we can never control others, but we can only control ourselves. I would have easily walked off and had no problem with doing so. For one if a cop cannot follow a request and rises to the level where someone is arrested on the officiating crew, you do not need me to work the game. Let the stupid cop do it themselves and see how that works over. Or work 4 man at this point and see how that works out for you too. I know even if I was not on the game I would look side-eyed to all those guys. This was not an SEC game or BIG game and likely they go paid less then I would get paid to work a college football game to waste my time. At some point we have to take a stand and if I would take a stand in other areas of my life, this is one where I would gladly be home early. "Public intimidation" my azz. The guy has a gun and he is intimidated by a guy with a whistle in a uniform. OK.

Peace

For anyone that's interested in writing the mayor of Covington, his name is Mike Cooper. You can write him at [email protected]. I've already written.

I hope you have more information than has been published in these sorry excuses for newspapers...

Covington Police Department interim chief Jack West didn’t return phone calls on Saturday, but gave a statement on Friday following the incident.

West said the referee was asking that a group of people on the sideline be moved, but the officer said he should handle the situation if someone needed to move. The referee allegedly became confrontational and was later removed from the field, along with Gambino, West said.




Interesting how he seemed to think that was a defense of his officer's actions, when it fact it's an admission that the officials were right and the officer failed miserably at his job.

Officials Association weighs in...

Football association supports refs arrested in Northshore game | wwltv.com New Orleans

I live 30 mins from this and it is the exact story I heard Sat morning from a fellow official in the area. Arrogance by a single individual was the major factor here.

I hate this part of the press release:

It is their goal to be as invisible as possible so that the game and the teams are the only focus.

No. That is not the goal of officials.

There's the basis of the Public Intimidation charges. They're claiming that the officials threatened to have them fired by involving those higher on the totem pole. What a load.