I think an uncomfortable truth for a lot of parents is that kids can “push” them to different levels of rage, particularly if a parent grew up with no guidance on regulating their own nervous system. Truthfully, it isn’t kids making us get to that point; it’s more that they have a way of holding up a mirror and we react to it. I’m guilty of this at times too. My home and family was full of adults who approached setbacks of any level with a lot of unregulated emotion. It takes me an enormous amount of effort to approach things calmly, and I do not always succeed.
I see it rub off on my kid sometimes, and I have to actively work to curtail it. Sometimes it doesn’t work, and I get mad over things that are honestly not worth the effort of anger. But being conscious of it, working on it, and most importantly correcting it, is part of the process of doing better.
Some adults, however, don’t even have access to that process and often fly off the handle for a number of reasons. And unfortunately — and heartbreakingly — it can result in an unforgivable amount of displaced rage and anger toward an innocent child. This seems to be the case with a US Army sergeant in Waco, Texas, who was apparently seen on Ring camera footage brutally hitting a 3-year-old boy.
Records show that Paul Thames, 29, is in McClennan County Jail on a charge of injury to a child, which is a third-degree felony, per Law & Crime. Authorities were made aware of it after the footage from the security camera circulated as a viral video online.
“The Waco Police Department is aware of a video circulating on social media depicting a horrendous assault of a 3-year-old boy by an adult male that occurred this afternoon,” the department shared in a statement on social media.
The original statement went on to explain that authorities were dispatched in the afternoon on January 16, 2026, after a witness called. Police explained that the boy and now-identified man knew each other and that Thames turned himself in following the attack. The boy was sent to the hospital to have his injuries assessed.
According to the arrest warrant, the video depicted Thames picking up the child by the back of his neck and repeatedly hitting him, KWTX reported. The police investigation revealed Thames admitted to taking the boy outside of the apartment to discipline him for not wanting to work on his ABCs, per the outlet. Thames claimed he only moved in with the boy’s mother “a couple of months ago.” The footage also reportedly shows the child crying out in pain and Thames asking him “Are you going to stop playing?”
Police also allegedly reported that Thames admitted to going overboard with his reaction and “apologized” to the 3-year-old.
An Army spokesperson confirmed to KWTX that Thames is a sergeant stationed at Fort Hood, 65 miles outside of Waco where the incident occurred.
“We are aware of the arrest of Sgt. Paul Thames for abuse of a child,” the spokesperson told the outlet. “The 1st Cavalry Division is in communication with law enforcement. We are disgusted by the video that has been posted. The behavior of Sgt. Thames does not reflect the values of the 1st Cavalry Division or the U.S. Army.”
The Waco Police Department’s statement also noted the boy was discharged from the hospital but had no update on his condition. Thames is being held at the jail on a $200,000 surety bond, Law & Crime stated. Although no official statement has been released about if or how this will impact Thames’ military status, the Uniform Code of Military Justice indicates that military members can be assessed against a general provision for “bad conduct” or “discrediting the armed forces,” according to the Dennis Stanford Law Office.
That means military members engaging in fraudulent, dishonest, or dishonorable conduct can result in being discharged, according to the law office. There is no word yet on what the repercussions of Thames’ extremely dishonorable actions will officially be.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
