Mitchell, what you are suggesting would be appropriate if the son had violated curfew, or used family property in a way he had been instructed not to, or committed a similar offense where he broke the rules of the house. Here, he broke the rules of the state and the dad has no skin in the game. What lesson could he teach his son in "dealing with it like a man," that only dad's anger/disappointment is to be feared in this life? That otherwise laws are made to be broken? That's a terrible, terrible lesson to impart and can do no good for anyone.

It is not "ratting" to hold your child accountable to the appropriate authority for his/her infractions. It is not "violence." It is parenting.