well unfortunately we don't know the past history of the child. Maybe the parents failed to discipline the kid early on, and now he was out of control (not like crazy out of control, but no response to the authority of his parents). I doubt many parents would call the cops on their kid for a one-time thing, he had probably been given many warnings and this was an attempt to smack some sense/fear into him.
I agree it's sad, but if the parents can't handle their kid, it's time to call someone who can.
