This week we showed you the video of the 2009 beating of Michael DeHerrera by Denver police—who were upset he was making a phone call while they beat his friend. Guess who he was calling? His dad, a cop.

DeHerrera already received a (paltry) $17k settlement from the city in the case. The beating is back in the news now because of a dispute over the proper punishment for the officers involved. In an interview in the Denver Post today, DeHerrera's father—who's been a Sheriff's deputy in nearby Pueblo for 22 years—says that his son called him that and cried "Dad, they're beating Shawn." Before his father could get all of the information, an officer tackled DeHerrera, beat him with a blackjack, and arrested him. His panicked father drove to Denver, making phone calls to try to find out where his son was. Finally, he got in touch with an officer who'd been on the scene:

"Your son got a little road rash on his nose," he recalls the officer telling him.

The "little road rash" was actually deep bruises, chipped teeth, black eyes and a head left swollen and lopsided.

Dad is amazed the officers haven't been fired. He has a helluva point. [Denver Post]