A man reported by witnesses to have kicked and beat his 11-year-old son in Van Nuys before the child ran away and called for help was in custody Friday, police said.
The abuse occurred in the 13800 block of Sylvan Street near Woodman Avenue about 9 p.m., an officer at the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys Station told a Newsreel camera crew. The boy is about 4 feet tall, according to Newsreel.
The two first began fighting while the man was driving a white pickup truck, and a short time later, the man threw the child into the street, where he proceeded to beat and kick him, witnesses told Newsreel in off-camera interviews.
The man then shoved the boy back into the truck and drove off, but the child broke free about a block later and ran for help, the officer said.
Witnesses notified authorities, but the assailant sped off before officers arrived at the scene, police said.
Responding officers examined the child and found old stab wound scars on his chest, the officer told Newsreel, adding that he told police the man was his father.
The boy was later placed into child protective custody and taken to a hospital for further examination, he added.
The boy told police that he and his father had been staying at a motel near Ranchito Avenue and Sylvan Street in Van Nuys, where officers arrested the man around 11:20 p.m. Thursday, said Lt. Gary Fredo of the Van Nuys Station. The case was being handled by the LAPD's Abused Child Unit.
