The case of the off-duty police officer who faked the arrest of his step-daughter’s boyfriend took a turn yesterday, when the boy’s parents released a cell phone video of the incident. The case began last week when the cop discovered that his fourteen-year-old daughter had sex with her boyfriend. He showed up at the boy’s house in full uniform, put the boy in handcuffs, and lectured him on what he had done wrong before releasing him. Both the boy and the girl were later cited for having with a minor.

The boy’s parents complained immediately after the incident, and investigators have been trying to determine whether the cop did anything wrong and abused his authority as an officer of the law. They claimed that the officer scared the boy by putting him in handcuffs and warning him that “The district attorney will probably file charges.”

The new video, taken by the boy’s father, is being cited by the boy’s parents as evidence of what actually happened, but also by the police officer’s attorney as evidence that the policeman did not overstep his bounds. There is no evidence of violence against the boy, and at one point, the boy’s father scolds the boy, saying, “Use your head. Think about what he is talking to you about. Listen to his words. Replay them in your head.” At no point in the video do the parents show any disapproval of what the police officer did.

The parents later claimed that before they began videoing the incident, the police officer took the boy alone into another room. They heard a thud, and when they went in, they found him getting off the floor in handcuffs.

The officer is now on administrative leave while the investigation proceeds. According to Independent Police Auditor LaDoris Cordell, the officer did violate at least two provisions in the police manual, including the rule that, “When an officer is on duty or is off duty, that officer will avoid becoming officially involved in quarrels or disputes occurring in their own neighborhoods.” To avoid similar incidents in the future, the police are determining whether a new code of conduct concerning interactions with people that police officers know personally should be put in place.
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