Corrections Officer Derek Ludwig Chased His Own Son At Football Practice

A Hilltop Unit correctional officer is accused of chasing his own 13-year-old son across a football practice field in Moody, Texas — then shoving the boy against a concrete building and striking him, according to witnesses.

What witnesses describe

Per the police report, Derek Ludwig, 40, grabbed the boy’s shirt after he crossed the field, pushed him against the building, and struck him before coaches intervened and ordered him off the property. Officers arrived after he had already left.

The charge

Ludwig, who joined the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 2024, was arrested Sept. 24 and charged with injury to a child, a third-degree felony carrying 2 to 10 years. He walked out of the McLennan County Jail two days later on $10,000 bond.

The detail everyone’s talking about: the witness says Ludwig’s wife was sitting nearby the whole time — and never said a word. TDCJ so far hasn’t commented. The Hilltop Unit’s Facebook page once congratulated his academy graduation — a welcome to the “law enforcement family.”

Watch the breakdown

Sources

1. Waco Tribune-Herald
2. McLennan County jail records
Photo credit: TDCJ Troll (Facebook)

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