A Phoenix police officer grabs the phone of then-16-year-old Sergio Nino III (Zwillinger Wulkan PLC).
The family of an Arizona teenager has filed a lawsuit against the Phoenix Police Department after its officers allegedly broke his wrist and busted open his chin while telling him his dad should beat him.
Attorneys representing Sergio Nino III filed a lawsuit against the agency and three of its officers stemming from an incident in January 2024. Nino”s father called police on his then-16-year-old son after he refused to give up his phone and was missing school. The father also said his son had some mental health issues.
Per the lawsuit, cops told the dad that he should “drag” and “hit” his son. Officers also allegedly said “if you wish to beat him, beat him. If you wish to belt him, belt him,” because his son “only has rights from the government. He has no rights from you.”
“If he’s gonna treat you like garbage, you treat him like garbage. Throw him out on the streets,” a cop said, according to the lawsuit.
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The father took cops to his son’s room. Officers ordered him out into the hallway and the officers “immediately began to harass and demean him,” plaintiff lawyers wrote.
Nino accused his father of abusing him but the officers weren’t having it, the lawsuit said. One of the officers allegedly justified the teen’s father abusing him, saying Sergio was “acting like a little brat.”
“You have no rights,” another officer allegedly said. “Your dad should beat you.”
Officers threatened to detain Nino and take his phone because he was “being a little brat,” according to the lawsuit. They also allegedly said that Nino’s father can “do any discipline he wants to you.” Nino started filming and an officer allegedly snatched his phone. After Nino reached for it, the officers “attacked” him and “pummeled” the teen to the ground, causing a laceration on his chin “from which blood splattered all over the scene,” the suit stated.
Police took Nino to the hospital where it was discovered he suffered a fractured wrist that required surgery, his lawyers claim.
“To this day, Sergio’s daily life has been limited by his wrist injury. Sergio continues to suffer from the injuries, the medical expenses, and their impact on his life,” the plaintiffs said. “There was no imminent threat to the officers’ safety when they used excessive force on Sergio, a non-violent and unarmed minor, who had merely reached for his phone in a non-aggressive manner.”
Cops initially arrested Nino for aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest, but the charges were later dropped.
Phoenix police declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 27 in the Superior Court of Arizona, accuses the officers of excessive force and battery. It is seeking $500,000.
“This case is not just about excessive force,” attorney Larry J. Wulkan said in a press release. “It is about Phoenix Police officers silencing a teenager for exercising his First Amendment right to record them inside his own home. They told his father to abuse him and then brutalized Sergio. That is not law enforcement; it is unconstitutional abuse of power.”
