A teenager in Phoenix is suing the city and its police department for $500,000, claiming officers used excessive force and encouraged his father to physically discipline him. The incident, captured on bodycam footage, shows officers telling the boy’s father, “If you wish to beat him, you can beat him. You wish to belt him, belt him.”
The confrontation began when the father, Sergio Nino, called police over a dispute with his then-16-year-old son, also named Sergio. When officers arrived, they told the father he had the right to discipline his child however he saw fit. During the exchange, one officer told the teen, “Your dad should beat you… You have no rights.”
The situation escalated when the teen tried to record the interaction on his phone. Officers forcibly restrained him, pinning him to the ground, leaving a pool of blood on the floor. His lawsuit claims he suffered a fractured wrist and facial lacerations requiring surgery.
Phoenix police have not commented due to ongoing litigation, but the case has sparked public debate about law enforcement’s role in family discipline and the use of force on minors. If the city does not settle, the teen’s attorneys plan to file a federal lawsuit.
