The story of a fifteen-year-old San Jose boy who was falsely arrested by his girlfriend’s cop stepfather is receiving national attention. The boy’s parents, who have lodged a complaint against the SJPD officer, appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday to tell their side of the story. Paul and Nicole Villarruel maintained their claim that the girl’s stepfather abused his authority.

“If he would have come over in T-shirt, jeans and in his own vehicle, not police vehicle parked in front of the house, fully in uniform, handcuffed, gun holstered, if he would have come to me as a parent, I would have dealt with him as a parent,” said Paul Villarruel. Instead, after what happened, the boy is scared and feels that he is under constant surveillance, said Nicole Villarruel.

The officer’s attorney claims that the parents did not protest at the time of the arrest, and points out that the video shows the father warning his son to, “Use your head. Think about what he is talking to you about. Listen to his words. Replay them in your head.” Villarruel explains that he was simply cautioning his son not to say anything that could be perceived as a statement with legal ramifications.

In his confrontation with the boy, the officer told him that, “The district attorney will probably file charges.”  She may, but what she is investigating is whether charges should be filed against the officer for false arrest. Meanwhile, the officer has to wonder whether the national attention the case is getting was worth it, either for him or his stepdaughter.
Read More at ABC 7.