The father of a teenager who was allegedly assaulted by an Auckland policeman says his son was "bordering on hysterical" after allegedly being elbowed in the face.
West Auckland police sergeant Martin James Folan has pleaded not guilty in Auckland District Court to six charges of assault and one of injuring with intent to injure.
One of the more serious allegations is that Folan kneed one man in the groin while in custody, leading him to lose a testicle.
James Campbell, father of one of the alleged victims, Finn Campbell, told the court he and his wife received a phone call from Folan informing them their son, then 16, had been picked up by the police and was waiting in his police car outside their house.
When they arrived home, Folan told Mr Campbell his son had been apprehended after members of the public complained that letter boxes had been vandalised in the area and a trail had led to Finn and his friends, who had been drinking nearby.
"He told me Finn had been cheeky and had a bit of attitude towards him when he asked him some questions, Finn was a bit lippy."
Folan told Mr Campbell his son would claim he had been elbowed in the face, which the officer said actually happened accidently as he was leaning into the police car to adjust the seatbelt.
When Finn Campbell was let out of the police car, he was handcuffed and "bordering on hysterical".
"As soon as the car door was opened he was shouting "he elbowed me in the face". We tried to calm him down, he ran off into the house, but he was determined to lay a complaint," Mr Campbell said.
His son had never been in trouble before and he doubted he would have been abusive to the officer.
"To me, he was just a typical 16-year-old boy in that situation and he felt he was being unnecessarily harassed, well, that might be an extreme word, but he felt he was being unnecessarily targeted."
The trial is expected to last six more days.
