The motorcycle officer, who was in uniform and armed, went to the boy’s home in San Jose, California where he handcuffed him and lectured him for more than five minutes.
He told the boy, who had been seeing the 14-year-old girl for some time, that he was going to face criminal charges of having sex with a minor.
The officer said: “It does not bode well for you. Do you know what that means? No? Not a good thing that the person you had sex with is a cop’s daughter. The district attorney will probably file charges.
“A cop’s daughter is not somebody you mess around with. You’re stupid.”
One of the boy’s parents videoed the incident and complained to police.
The case sparked a national debate in the US about whether the officer had abused his position, or was simply acting as a concerned father.
Tony Boskovich, a lawyer for the boy’s family, said: “Applying force, applying handcuffs, threatening the young man with things such as rape in prison, he acted like a cowboy. He lost it, he came in and he abused his authority.”
However, the officer’s lawyer Terry Bowman said the boy’s parents had not objected at the time.
‘Applying force, applying handcuffs, threatening the young man with things such as rape in prison.
‘He acted like a cowboy. He lost it, he came in and he abused his authority.’
Lawyers for the policeman have suggested that the boy’s parents were complicit either by giving their permission or doing nothing to stop the tirade.
Attorney Terry Bowman said: ‘At no time did you hear the parents of the young man objecting, getting upset, crying. So the video is absolutely exculpatory from the cop’s perspective,’ she said.
‘The officer was essentially invited to use ‘scare straight’ tactics, and there were no objections to the lecture or the handcuffing.
‘Everything was done in the spirit of reaching a troubled young man who is heading down the wrong path.’
She added that early in the video the boy’s stepfather advises his handcuffed son: ‘Use your head. Think about what he is talking to you about. Listen to his words. Replay them in your head.’\
The boy’s parents filed a complaint with the police and both the boy and the girl were cited for unlawful sexual intercourse.
The misdemeanour, for minors who are close in age and have consensual sex, is rarely prosecuted.
None of the adults have been identified to protect the identities of the two minors.
San Jose Police Department spokesman Sgt. Ronnie Lopez said the officer may have violated some of the force policies which relate to conduct involving personal feelings and policing ones own neighbourhood, but could not comment further.
Should the district attorney file criminal charges the officer could face jail for false imprisonment.
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