A teenager was walking in his neighborhood. Then police handcuffed him. Now he’s suing Winter Park

by Beth Kassab | Nov 3, 2026 | News, Police and Public Safety

A teenager was walking in his neighborhood. Then police handcuffed him. Now he’s suing Winter Park

A federal lawsuit filed last month alleges Winter Park police violated the teen’s rights after an off-duty patrol spotted him walking with friends in Windsong, where he lived

Nov. 3, 2026

By Gabrielle Russon

On a Friday night last year, Winter Park Police Lt. David Graham was driving an unmarked police car with tinted windows while working an off-duty private security patrol in the Windsong neighborhood when something caught his attention.

Graham spotted three teenagers walking on the sidewalk near a house under construction.

The teenagers ran off — except for one. A 16-year-old who lived in the neighborhood couldn’t keep pace with his friends because he was hobbling in a medical boot for a broken ankle.

Lukas Balint was questioned, handcuffed and placed in a Winter Park Police car as multiple units responded to the scene near the partially built house at Genius Drive and Balmoral Road. Lukas, who was never taken to jail or charged with a crime, was returned to his parents, who thanked Graham for keeping their neighborhood safe.

Twenty months later, Lukas, now an 18-year-old high school student, is suing the city of Winter Park, Graham and five other police officers. Lukas is the sole plaintiff in the lawsuit, filed Oct. 1 by NeJame Law Firm.

The federal lawsuit alleges that police violated Lukas’ constitutional rights by conducting an unreasonable seizure and using excessive force.

“On the night of the incident, Lukas was merely walking in his neighborhood with friends. They broke no laws, caused no chaos, and were simply doing what we want all our teenagers to do,” NeJame Law Firm said in a statement. “Within moments, Lukas was ambushed by an undercover police vehicle and terrorized by multiple Winter Park Police Department officers. The off-duty officer hired by the homeowners association unlawfully created a situation that led to Lukas being handcuffed, detained, and placed in the back of a police car for over half an hour so that at least four separate officers could aggressively question Lukas about having committed a non-existent criminal offense.”

The city of Winter Park declined to comment because of the pending litigation.

An image from Winter Park Police body cam footage captures part of the response to teens walking in the Windsong neighborhood near a home under construction in 2025. The stop is now the subject of a federal lawsuit filed in October.

Lukas is the son of a prominent Winter Park family. His mother is Dr. Lynda Balint, an obstetrician-gynecologist, and his father is Nathan Balint, a corporate lawyer specializing in mergers, acquisitions and private equity. His father was named one of the Orlando Business Journal’s “Most Influential Men” in 2012, according to his company’s website.

The Balints declined to speak with the Winter Park Voice, although their attorney answered questions and provided a statement.

The lawsuit also alleges false imprisonment and battery, claiming that an officer handcuffed Lukas and directed him into the back of a police car, among other complaints.

According to the federal complaint, Lukas and his friends did nothing wrong when he was stopped at about 10 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2025.

“Before Graham activated emergency lights or identified himself as an officer, Lukas and his friends had no obligation to remain near the unidentified vehicle, answer questions, or make themselves available for a police encounter. Their movement away from an unknown vehicle did not create reasonable suspicion,” the lawsuit said. “After Graham identified himself and commanded Lukas to stop, Lukas immediately complied. Lukas did not flee, resist, threaten an officer, reach toward a weapon, enter a building, discard property, conceal evidence, or engage in conduct corroborating any suspected offense. His compliance dissipated rather than strengthened any objectively reasonable concern.”

The police report noted that “over the last year or so both night shifts and detail units have had similar incidents/contact with these juveniles,” but did not elaborate on those interactions.

Through a public records request, the Voice obtained police body-camera footage capturing Lukas’ interactions with Graham and other officers. The teenager was questioned under the glare of flashing police lights. Lukas wore a white hooded Nike sweatshirt and pajama pants.

“Where’s your friends at?” Graham demanded, apparently concerned that the teenagers had sneaked onto the construction site, according to the body-camera footage.

“What friends?” Lukas replied.

“We’re going to talk about burglary, trespassing, all that stuff,” Graham said. “We’re not playing this game where you’re going to be dumb and not know what you’re doing. You were trying to hide from me for some reason, and that’s what I’m trying to figure out right now.”

Lukas said his friends weren’t hiding but must have gone back home.

Minutes later, Lukas was ordered to put his hands behind his back. He was handcuffed and placed in a police car.

Graham called for backup to help find the other two teenagers, who had disappeared. Officers searched the construction site with flashlights but did not appear to find anyone, according to the body-camera footage.

Later that same night, police also visited the parents of one of the other teenagers, who lived in the neighborhood.

Several officers stood outside the police car and spoke with Lukas, who was in the back seat.

Graham told Lukas that hiding from law enforcement “was a red flag. That’s not what normal people do.”

“You see the blue lights flashing, that’s why I turn them on, to make sure when I get out of my car, you know that I’m the police. And then at that point you’re gone … It gives me the belief that you are up to something that’s not appropriate this time of night,” Graham said. “It’s unusual. How many other people are out here walking around and then hiding from cops? How many? No one else.”

Lukas tried to protest, but Graham cut him off.

“Lukas, quit trying to mitigate what you did and understand that I know what happened. You are a bunch of kids. I was a kid too, but don’t lie to me about what you’re doing,” Graham said.

Another officer later told Lukas, “Just take it as a learning experience. We were all 16 once … character building.”

The body-camera footage captured officers speaking in frustrated tones. The exchange sounded more like a lecture than a screaming match, and no one appeared to use physical force against Lukas.

At times, Lukas’ responses were difficult to hear and sounded muffled on the recording. He appeared to be expressing concerns about how police had treated him when a female officer asked, “How was tonight rough?”

Lukas, who is white, clearly mentioned George Floyd, although the full context of his remarks is difficult to make out. Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis, was killed in 2020 after a police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes. His death sparked protests across the country.

“There’s no similarities between that situation and this situation,” the Winter Park officer responded.

Lukas complained about being handcuffed and not being allowed to call his parents.

“To me, it’s kind of traumatizing,” he said.

The officer dismissed his concerns.

“What’s traumatizing for you might not be traumatizing for me,” she said. “We all perceive things differently.”

Asked about Lukas’ reference to Floyd, his attorneys said in a statement:

“In the moment, Lukas was handcuffed, unlawfully placed in the back of a police vehicle while in a cast due to a broken ankle, and then was barraged by numerous police officers. In a moment, Lukas went from walking in his neighborhood with friends to being unlawfully detained, placed in a police car for nothing, and answering the same aggressive and unnecessary questions from several different police officers. He felt nothing short of terror as he tried to comprehend what was happening.”

Graham also spoke with Lukas’ parents before police returned him to their custody.

The body-camera footage showed the Balints sounding concerned but calm, and even expressing support for the police.

“That’s the one thing I try to instill in my own child is that whatever you do, don’t lie about it,” Graham told them.

“Exactly – especially to police officers,” Lukas’ mother said. “We live in Windsong, so we appreciate you doing a patrol.”

“That’s what we’re here for,” Graham said. “I’ll let you all do your magic as parents and then we’ll go from there.”

“You probably have more magic than we do,” Lukas’ mother said, prompting the adults to chuckle.

“We have temporary magic,” Graham said. “But you have long-lasting magic with the kid. A lot more influence than we do.”

Lukas’ father, however, had more questions. He asked what the teenagers had been evasive about.

Graham described seeing the teenagers walking before they disappeared. He assumed they had entered the construction site, which he said was illegal.

“It’s a violation of law. Plus he’s absconding from law enforcement, which is another violation,” Graham said. “So these are just some things that made it unusual at that point for me, which is why I did at that point an investigatory stop on him.”

“That makes sense,” Lukas’ father said, adding that he appreciated the officer.

Graham also said Lukas had tried to call 911 “through Siri,” which, Graham said, could have resulted in a criminal charge for making a false report.

The Voice asked NeJame Law Firm how the Balints went from appearing to be understanding of the police during the encounter to filing a federal lawsuit 20 months later.

“For over a year, the Balints tried to resolve this matter amicably with the City of Winter Park without resorting to litigation. Only after the City refused to engage in meaningful dialogue about proactive measures the police department could implement to prevent unnecessary incidents like this in the future were the Balints left with the choice to either file suit or otherwise endorse these unconstitutional practices,” the law firm said. “Unfortunately, Lukas is not the first resident to be subjected to excessive detention practices.”

WinterParkVoiceEditor@gmail.com

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