A former Bastrop school district bus driver was sentenced to five years of probation this week for endangering children during an incident last year that included slamming on his brakes, screaming profanities and threatening an 11-year-old boy.

On May 11, 2015, 44-year-old Samuel Macklin told a student he would "break (his) f—-ing throat" and "make (him) eat f—-ing pavement for dinner," according to video obtained from the Bastrop County district attorney’s office. He then threatened the student’s family, broke a bus window and slammed on the brakes, knocking passengers from their seats.

"I was really scared for those kids on that bus when I saw that video," District Judge Chris Duggan said at Macklin’s sentencing hearing Nov. 21. "I personally was horrified."

Macklin was convicted of felony child endangerment in October. At his trial, jurors watched the video of the incident, which began with a seemingly innocent exchange between the bus driver and the student. Macklin called the student gay, then began taunting him.

"I don’t put up with shit from nobody, especially not a little punk like you," Macklin said, threatening to knock the boy out of the bus and hurt his mother if she came to say something.

"I’ll break your f—-ing throat," Macklin told the boy.

The student was silent several seconds before screaming back at the bus driver, saying, "You ain’t touching none of my family."

Macklin slammed on the brakes, jolting the student passengers in the back of the bus.

"Jump, jump," he screamed. "Jump at me, punk. I’ll feed your ass that little puppy dog you’re scared of."

Macklin pointed to the bus’ video recording device, saying he was aware he was being taped. "You’ll have another bus driver tomorrow," he said.

Macklin continued harassing the student, at one point making him cry.

"I will make you eat f—-ing pavement for dinner," he said. "I don’t care how old you are, you will not touch me."

Students in the back of the bus stared in stunned silence.

"Get the f—- off this bus before I beat the f—- out of you," Macklin told the student as he exited the bus.

Macklin dropped the rest of his passengers off, before communicating with dispatch over the radio to say he quit.

"I had a kid push me too far just now," he said. "I quit. All my friends, I love you. It’s been real."

At his sentencing hearing Monday, Macklin said he had "lost his cool" and deeply regretted the incident.

After he quit, he took a job driving another bus for the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin. He lost that position after he was indicted for child endangerment by a Bastrop County grand jury in November 2015.

At sentencing, several people testified as character witnesses for Macklin, calling him a stand-up guy, who had volunteered as a firefighter and with the Smithville Veterans of Foreign Wars organization.

"Sam was able to overcome great odds to be successful," said Don Loucks, a friend of ten years. "It is not the Sam Macklin I know, it was completely out of character."

Many witnesses speaking on behalf of Macklin pointed to health problems in the family that could have acted as stressors. All of them said they would be happy to allow Macklin to look after their children and grandchildren. None of the character witnesses had seen the video of the incident.

State prosecutor Kristin Burns said that even after his conviction, Macklin still did not understand the extent of his crime or that he was a threat to children.

"He needs to be held accountable for what he did," she said.

Jessica Houghtby, Macklin’s attorney, pleaded for leniency.

"I think you need to realize what happened that day," Duggan said as he handed down Macklin’s sentence. "It wasn’t just a bad day, it was illegal."

As well as five years of probation, Macklin will be required to complete 400 hours of community service, pay a $1,000 fine to the county and another $1,000 to a children’s charity of his choosing. He is only allowed supervised visitation around children, will have to complete anger management training and write an apology letter to the student’s family.

He will also be required to complete a drug and alcohol evaluation, since he admitted at his trial to struggling with substance abuse and said he had smoked methamphetamine as recent as 2014.

According to filings with the district clerk’s office, Macklin was notified Tuesday to appear at a hearing scheduled Dec. 19 on a notice to show cause — suggesting a potential problem in the first 24 hours of his probation. Macklin’s attorney and the Bastrop school district were not immediately available Tuesday to comment on the case.