Can mall security guard punch and pepperspray 13 yr old?

My 13 yr old son was beaten and pepper sprayed by three security guards at the mall and they will not tell me why, they will not let me speak to the security guards who did this, see the surveillance camera, or see any written report. The police dept refuse to press charges. They said they were not there until the EMT was called, and they helped flush my son's face and body w/ water. He had blacked out for an hour, and they brought him home soak and wet and shivering, the entire right side of his face is busted open, and he has scratches on his neck and bruises on both of his wrists. The security guards didnt tell him what they wanted, nor did they tell me or him what he did wrong. He didnt do anything? They say he was resisting but resisting WHAT? They had him a choke hold and couldnt breathe. when he was strggling he accdntly elbowed 1 in the face who then closed fist punched him in his face and said "u wanna f** hit me in the face?" then held pepper spray right to his face.

If my son were shoplifting or anything VERY wrong, I would have been informed and so would the police. The security supervisor had NOTHING to say, and I brought the police THERE to find out the story. They werent 'big meanies' they were security guards overusing their authority. Even so, beating and pepperspraying is EXTREME!!

In reading your statement, I believe that you may not be getting the full story from your son.

Although it is possible that the security personnel may have utilized more force than was appropriate, and I agree that the amount of force that you describe sounds extreme in nature without further explanation of the potential actions of your son, the statement that you included regarding the refusal to press charges by the police indicates the contrary. There are, unfortunately, circumstances where such amounts of force are necessary. The big question here is, was this one of those circumstances.

Was your son actually arrested at the scene? If so, then you should be able to get a better idea of the circumstances surrounding this incident. If he was not arrested, you should consult an attorney to consider a lawsuit against the personnel and mall management. In the use of a lawsuit, your attorney can utilize the power of discovery to acquire the evidential data that you cited that you are being denied access to. Then you can decide where to go from there.

Something is not adding up in this description.

Good luck!

I am not quite sure why you're putting this on Yahoo! Answers...because the answer is obvious. The first and really only thing you should do is get a lawyer, and if you can't or don't want to, than you shouldn't be whining about the situation. A Lawyer will know what to do and immediately press charges. Best thing to do as well is get your son to a hosital and get him examined, and an official statement about his condition made.

If he's fighting them, they can fight back. It sounds like the full picture isn't there... there must be a reason why they did this.

However, there is still the possibility that they took it way out of line. If you believe this is the case, contact a lawyer.

A security guard cannot punch and pepper spray a minor because the act is abuse of authority.

Your son did something VERY wrong. He is just choosing not to tell you the whole truth and act like he was being innocent when these big meanie adults came and beat him up. Malls are a busy place, somebody saw what really happened and will speak up. He probably got caught shoplifting or purse snatching.

"Your son did something VERY wrong. Probably got caught shoplifting or purse snatching. He is just choosing not to tell you and act like he was being innocent when these big meanie adults came and beat him up."

Wow, thats a biased answer about "authority can do no wrong". Give me a break. Unless the kid had a gun, what they did was unjustifiable.

Call a lawyer.