Teen Victim Of Alleged Excessive Police Force Remains In Juvenile Detention

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) - The parents of a teenager they claim was the victim of "excessive police force" left Broward County court Tuesday disappointed they could not get him released from juvenile detention.

A hearing for 17-year-old Alex Cabrera never happened. The teenager has been in the Broward County juvenile detention center since August 14th.

On that day, Hollywood Police said Cabrera refused to stop when they tried to pull him over because his license plate did not match the registration. They said Cabrera ran red lights, rammed a police car at one point and then refused to get out of his car once cornered.

The takedown was unexpectedly captured on a homeowner's security system. In that surveillance video, you can see officers pulling Cabrera from his car, wrestling him on the ground and after being handcuffed, one officer uses his knee to poke Cabrera.

Hollywood Police started an internal affairs investigation into the actions of the officers who were captured on the tape. Cabrera's parents met with internal affairs at the Hollywood Police Department on Monday afternoon.

"They said they would be fair if they needed to press charges against the cops they would," said Cabrera's father Agustin Cabrera.

Monday, the city confirmed that one police officer involved in the takedown is currently on 'desk duty' while the investigation proceeds.

Meantime Cabrera's parents have obtained the emergency room report from the hospital where their son was taken after the take down. The report showed that Alex Cabrera had a 'closed head injury, facial contusions and abrasions at multiple sites,' but there were no broken bones.

"Obviously he wasn't in a car accident; so somehow he got those injuries. The video looks like the officers did them," said Cabrera's mother, Michelle Surgeon.

Alex Cabrera called his parents from the juvenile detention center on Monday night.

"He's sore. He's hurt. He says he needs medical attention. He said he has two black eyes, but his neck is what hurts," explained his father Agustin.

"The only thing they gave him is ibuprofen and he's complaining his neck hurt. We want to get him to the doctor to make sure there is no permanent neck damage," said Surgeon.

Both Cabrera and Surgeon say they may have to hire additional legal help to get their son out of detention.

Following his arrest a judge ordered him held for 21 days. He has been in the center for a week