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As shown in the images, one officer is seen taking the alleged victim’s phone out of his hands.(Zwillinger Wulkan Law Firm)<\/p>\nPHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 Three Phoenix police officers are accused of telling a man he was allowed to beat his teenage son, shortly before a violent arrest led to the boy\u2019s wrist being broken nearly two years ago.<\/p>\n
The incident was captured on body-cam video released by attorneys representing 18-year-old Sergio Nino III.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit paints a horrible picture, with claims of three officers coming into a Phoenix home in the early morning hours of Jan. 23, 2024, and tackling Nino, then 16, breaking his wrist and busting open his chin in the process. <\/p>\n
Nino is now suing the city of Phoenix and the three officers involved for battery and excessive force. According to the suit, the incident stemmed from Nino\u2019s father calling 911 to report his son had been \u201cacting out\u201d and \u201cmissing school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Upon entering the home, police officers spoke with Nino\u2019s dad about the issues he\u2019d been having with his son. In bodycam video, one officer can be heard telling Nino\u2019s father to \u201cdrag him\u201d and \u201chit him.\u201d Officers went on to tell the father, \u201cIf he (Sergio) is gonna treat you like garbage, you treat him like garbage. Throw him out on the street.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was at this point that Nino\u2019s dad asked officers to take his son\u2019s phone and try to talk to him. The lawsuit said that when officers asked Sergio to come out of his room, he did so calmly. However, that\u2019s when the lawsuit states the harassment began.<\/p>\n
In the bodycam video, you hear Nino tell officers that his father was abusing him. Documents said that\u2019s when his 18-year-old sister came out of her room and validated those claims. Despite being mandatory reporters of child abuse, the lawsuit said the officers dismissed the claims.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour dad should beat you. … As a kid you have no rights,\u201d one officer is heard saying in the video. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just thought it wasn\u2019t really ethical to hit your children,\u201d said Nino on the body camera video. \u201cThat is legally allowed. I beat the sh** out of my kids when they\u2019re acting up,\u201d said an officer.<\/p>\n
Nino\u2019s father then asked to see his son\u2019s phone, but the teen refused to hand it over, claiming it was his property because he pays his own phone bill. That\u2019s when bodycam video shows officers continuing to harass Nino, saying, \u201cWe can put handcuffs on you right now…Just to detain you because you\u2019re being a little brat.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the video, Nino pulls out his phone and starts recording the interaction with the officers. As shown in the screenshots from the bodycam video, one of the officers takes it from Nino\u2019s hands. <\/p>\n
As shown in the images, one officer is seen taking the alleged victim’s phone out of his hands.(Zwillinger Wulkan Law Firm)<\/p>\n
The lawsuit alleges Nino reached out in a \u201cnon-violent and non-aggressive\u201d way to get his phone back. That\u2019s when the video shows Nino being thrown face down onto the ground, causing a cut across his chin with blood splatter all over the floor.<\/p>\n
In the bodycam, you can hear the teen cry out in pain and beg the officers to loosen the handcuffs around his wrist, saying that he was losing circulation. \u201cWell then, you shouldn\u2019t have made bad choices,\u201d an officer replied.<\/p>\n
Nino was taken to a nearby medical facility, where a nurse asked police to loosen the handcuffs. But the suit claims officers refused, disputing that they were not too tight and that the teen \u201cwas moving too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Documents say that when the nurse pointed out that Nino\u2019s right wrist was swelling, only then did the police loosen the cuff. An X-ray later determined that he had a fractured wrist that required surgery. He also needed five sutures to close the chin wound.<\/p>\n
Nino was accused of aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt never happened and that\u2019s why they dropped the charges,\u201d said Nino\u2019s attorney, Larry Wulkan<\/a>. He said the goal of the lawsuit is to go to trial and create change within the Phoenix Police Department so something like this never happens again.<\/p>\n Wulkan said Nino\u2019s father supports the legal action. The father and son have resolved their issues and have a much better relationship now. The lawsuit was filed on Oct. 27.<\/p>\n \u201cAs this is part of ongoing litigation, no comment will be provided,\u201d a Phoenix PD spokesperson replied regarding the lawsuit.<\/p>\n Micaela Marshall<\/a> and Ben Bradley<\/a> contributed to this report. <\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note: This incident occurred at the same time as the Phoenix Police Department was under investigation by the Department of Justice<\/a> for violating people\u2019s rights, discriminating against certain groups and using excessive force.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n