79-year-old U.S. citizen files $50 million civil rights claim after Van Nuys car wash ICE raid

[SunSeeker]

Rafie Ollah Shouhed, a longtime Valley Car Wash owner, said he was inside his business at 7530 Van Nuys Blvd. when masked agents stormed the premises. Surveillance video reviewed by KTLA shows a federal agent shoving Shouhed to the ground inside a hallway.

Shouhed told KTLA he stepped outside to speak with the agents, offering proof that his employees were legally authorized to work, but was instead cursed at, pushed back, and body slammed onto the pavement. According to the civil rights claim, three agents then jumped on his back, with one forcing a knee onto his neck while others restrained his arms. Shouhed claims he told agents he had recently undergone heart surgery, had three stents, and could not breathe, but that his pleas were ignored.

He was handcuffed, transported to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, and held nearly 12 hours without medical attention, he alleges. Despite agents later acknowledging he was a U.S. citizen, Shouhed said he was denied phone calls to his family and released without charges.

The $50 million claim alleges assault, battery, violation of the California Bane Act, deliberate indifference to a serious medical condition, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and other torts. It also claims that DHS, ICE, and CBP maintain policies that tolerate the use of excessive force. Attorney V. James DeSimone, who filed the claim on Shouhed’s behalf, said in a statement that federal agents’ actions were “outrageous and unlawful” and violated both federal and California civil rights laws. 

https://ktla.com/news/79-year-old-american-citizen-files-50-million-claim-after-car-wash-ice-raid/