Teen Seeks $500K After Phoenix Police Tell His Dad to 'Beat Him, Belt Him': Bodycam Footage & Docs

The incident went down in January 2024, when authorities were called to the home of Sergio Nino and his then-16-year-old son, also named Sergio. Mr. Nino claimed his son had been acting up at home, using drugs and missing school -- leading to a confrontation where the father attempted to remove his son's bedroom door.

During the alleged altercation, Mr. Nino claimed he fell on top of his son and some sort of scuffle occurred over the teen's cell phone. The dad said he then called police, claiming his son spat at him and swatted at him during the incident, before telling officers that his daughter -- who witnessed the incident -- was taking his son's "side."

Per the father, the teen has had mental health issues and been in treatment centers in the past, while adding he's called police on him numerous times in the past.

After Mr. Nino gives responding officers his side of the story, police worn bodycam footage released to FOX 10 Phoenix shows the father saying that an officer from a previous incident told him to "physically discipline" his son.

After the father says he "can't" do that because he'll "go to jail," an officer at the scene tells him, "No, you don't."

"I don't have control of my own house," Mr. Nino continues, saying he's been trying to get his son on some kind of hold or in juvenile detention. Officers at the scene suggest emancipating him, putting him in a group home, or to punish him by stopping payments on the teen's cell phone and car.

"We don’t parent people. That's your job. If you need to physically discipline him, you physically discipline him," an officer tells him. "You drag him, you hit him; he only has rights from the government. He has no rights from you. If you wish to beat him, you can beat him. You wish to belt him, belt him."

"They can call child services, but if they see you're disciplining him, they'll throw it in the shredder," the officer adds. "If he's gonna treat you like garbage, you gotta treat him like garbage. Throw him out on the street."

The officer then suggests removing the teen's bedroom door, before taking everything away from him. "He should not be running this house," says the officer, before the father asks the cops to speak with the teen.

The teen Sergio says his father "tackled" him -- before an officer says, "He can do that. He's not abusing you. He's trying to discipline you because you're acting like a little brat."

"Your dad should beat you. Other than sending you to the hospital, your dad should beat you. As a kid, you have to take it," the officer continues. "You have no rights. You're treating him like garbage. Do you pay for your car? House? Phone?"

The son pushes back, figuratively, asking whether the officer has "been here to see the whole situation," before asking them not to touch him. The officers reply, saying they can put him in handcuffs for "being a little brat" and for his father's claim of alleged assault.

The situation begins to spiral a bit out of control as the teen's sister tries defending her brother, before being told to go to her room. A screaming match ensures, before the officer attempts to take the son's phone -- which Sergio claims was his own property -- as the teen takes it out to film the interaction.

A scuffle ensues, before the younger Sergio is seen pinned to the ground with a pool of blood visible on the floor in front of his face, and blood on his face. All the while, he's screaming about allegedly being in pain and saying his restraints are "too tight."

He continues to yell about the restraints as he's taken outside, while being told he's being brought in for aggravated assault after he "lunged" at the officer. He maintains he was only trying to grab his phone.

"Stop crying. I don't need a warrant," one officer tells him, before another shouts, "It's not yours, it's your dad's. It's how that works!"

As the officers and the teen are outside, Sergio tells them, "I'll get some money, too." One replies, "Yeah, big zero," before they start wiping blood off their uniforms.

While the teen, who is now 18, hasn't sued the City of Phoenix or the three officers, his lawyers did file a notice of claim against them. In it, they ask for a $500,000 settlement. "If the City does not resolve the claim, a federal lawsuit will be filed against the City of Phoenix and the involved officers," his attorney told 12 News in a statement.

Per the claim, the younger Sergio allegedly suffered a 3-centimeter laceration to his face during the incident, as well as a fractured wrist, which required surgery.

The claim alleges the teen "may be left with permanent facial scarring," adding that, "Sergio's wrist injury has hindered Sergio’s ability to engage in daily activities, such as writing, working out, and playing video games."

"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," say his lawyers, who argue that "there was no imminent threat" to the officers "when they used excessive force on Sergio. They also claimed there was no lunge toward the police, which the officers said precipitated the aggressive takedown and handcuffing.

"The officers' excessive force, and their deliberate indifference to his injuries caused by that force, were objectively unreasonable," they added.

A spokesperson for the police department told ABC 15 that the incident is pending litigation, while sources told the outlet the incident was placed under review.