OFF THE WIRE
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_16142061?nclick_check=1
Off-duty San Jose officer pretends to arrest teen The Associated Press Posted: 09/22/2010 05:34:24 AM PDT Updated: 09/22/2010 09:24:13 AM PDT
SAN JOSE, Calif.—The parents of a teenager said an off-duty San Jose policeman showed up at their home and handcuffed their son for having sex with the officer's 14-year-old stepdaughter. The 15-year-old boy's parents said the motorcycle officer found out the teens were having sex and showed up at the boy's home in uniform, put their son in cuffs and began berating the teen.
The parents said they didn't give the officer permission to scare their son, and the officer was angry and abusing his authority.
The boy's stepfather used his cellular telephone to take video of the Aug. 30 confrontation.
"Not a good thing that the person you had sex with is a cop's daughter," said the officer, according to the video viewed by San Jose The Mercury News. "The district attorney will probably file charges."
The cuffs were then removed and the officer left.
Santa Clara County prosecutors are reviewing the case but have sent it back to the police department requesting more information.
The officer's lawyer, Terry Bowman, said his client was just trying to scare the boy and that he never pretended to arrest him.
"He is doing (the boy's parents) a favor by attempting to lecture and educate the young man so he doesn't continue to go down the wrong path," Bowman said.
After the incident was reported to police internal affairs, the boy was arrested for unlawful sexual intercourse, which is a misdemeanor for consensual sex between two minors of a similar age. Neither the boy's parents nor the officer are being named to protect the identities of the minors.
