A Florida father requested a deputy watch as he disciplined his child with a spanking. (Photo: Siraphol, Getty Images/iStockphoto) 
 
 A Florida man made the news recently after he called the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office and requested a deputy oversee him while he spanked his 12-year-old daughter with a paddle. 
 
 The father, Dale Garcia, wanted to discipline his daughter with a spanking after she'd fought with her sister, according to a police report of the incident, which occurred on Dec. 29. However, she told him it was against the law for him to hit her, Undersheriff Noel Stephen told USA TODAY Network. 
 
 Garcia called the sheriff's office to ask if it was within his rights and they sent a deputy to his residence. The deputy arrived at the residence and confirmed that it was legal to discipline a child with a spanking. 
 
 "(He) wanted me to stand by while he spanked her with the paddle. … I stood by as (he) spanked (her) 4 times on her buttocks. Since no crime had been committed this case is closed," the officer wrote in his report. 
 
 While it might sound unusual, Stephen said it wasn't unprecedented. 
 
 "I'm starting my 28th year here, and that's been the 12th time I've heard of it during my career," he said. 
 
 When asked to judge whether or not a spanking is too severe, officers use "their professional and personal judgment to determine if it's adequate or not based on the circumstances," Stephen said. A spanking would be considered excessive if there were visible marks and bruises, he said. 
 
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 OKEECHOBEE, Fla. - A father in Okeechobee County called the sheriff's office Monday to witness him spank his daughter and prevent any chance of accusations that he broke the law. 
 
 Deputy Joseph Hall said in his report that he was called to a home in the 3300 block of SW 18th St. at 7:16 p.m. in reference to "juvenile problems." 
 
 A father at the home, Dale Garcia, said he had just returned home from Walmart and learned his two 12-year-old daughters had been arguing. 
 
 Garcia said one of the girls locked herself in her bedroom but her sister used a knife to pick the lock. The girls admitted to the deputy they had been fighting over a tablet. 
 
 The father said he wanted to paddle the daughter who had the knife but called the deputy to witness the spanking. 
 
 Hall said he stood by while Garcia spanked the girl "four times on her buttocks". 
 
 “Since no crime had been committed, this case is closed and no further action is required,” the deputy concluded his report. 
 
 So, how often does this happen? 
 
 “It happens,” said OCSO Major Noel Stephen. “And has happened several times in the past. But it’s definitely not something we advertise to do. It’s a call here and there.” 
 
 “And even though law enforcement has been willing to help out in this situation, watching a parent discipline their child is something that’s done only when a deputy has no other calls to handle.”
– Spanking children has been outlawed in dozens of countries, but it's still legal in all 50 states—and in Florida, you can apparently request a police presence. Police in Okeechobee County say father Dale Garcia asked a deputy to stand by and make sure he was obeying the law as he spanked his 12-year-old daughter with a paddle, WPTV reports. According to the deputy's incident report from Dec. 29, he stood by as the father spanked the girl, who had been fighting with her sister, "four times on her buttocks." Since no crime was committed, "this case is closed," the deputy wrote. A police spokesman tells USA Today that after the girl told her father it was illegal for him to spank her, he called the sheriff's office to make sure he was within his rights. Such requests are rare but not unheard of, the officer says. "I'm starting my 28th year here, and that's been the 12th time I've heard of it during my career," he says. He explains that officers asked to oversee spankings use their "professional and personal judgment to determine if it's adequate or not" and that it would be considered too severe if the punishment left visible bruises.