TEXAS CITY, Texas -- Amy Alvarez and her family got a surprise visit from a teenager who lives in their Texas City neighborhood. Alvarez said he was wearing a bright orange towing chain.

"(It was) padlocked to his neck," Alvarez said. "He was crying in just a pair of shorts, and he asked if he could call the police."

According to Texas City police, the 15-year-old's father, 48-year-old Ira Joseph Danner, was the one who put the chain around the boy's neck.

Police said the teen was sitting on the couch early Saturday morning when Danner came up behind him and locked the chain around his neck.

Police also said that Danner Maced the boy twice when the teen tried to follow him through the house.

Local 2 spoke with the boy's uncle, Tim Danner.

"We're not normally like this ... is an extreme situation," he said.

Tim Danner said his older brother had been having discipline problems with the teen. He said the father and son had been fighting lately and that those fights had become physical, with the teen getting the upper hand.

"I was talking to an officer and this happens with a lot of households -- not just ours," Tim Danner said. "Teenagers can overpower their fathers these days, and some fathers deal with it in different ways."

Still, police said this went too far.

"We all have problems with our kids," Alvarez said. "I can't believe anyone would do that to their own child."

Danner was arrested and taken to Galveston County Jail, charged with assault.

Police said Child Protective Services was notified. Neighbors said the family has three children.