LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 79-year-old Southern California man filed a claim against the federal government on Thursday for $50 million in damages.
Rafie Ollah Shouhed, owner of a car wash in Los Angeles, claims he suffers from several ribs and chest injuries, elbow injuries and has symptoms of traumatic brain injury. Shouhed is a naturalized US citizen of Iran.
Video surveillance footage from inside the car wash shows federal officials running through the hallway. The agent encounters him by knocking him to the ground before he passes by. Footage from outside the car wash shows him walking towards a federal official who appears to be restraining one of the employees. The show worked briefly with the second officer before a third party ran to tackle the ground.
The request was filed against the US Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection.
In a statement, a DHS spokesperson said authorities arrested five people from Guatemala and Mexico from car washes that “break the immigration laws of our country” and “have been arrested for obstructing operations, attacking and obstructing federal officers.”
Shouhed and his lawyer V. James Desimone denied the charges at a press conference Thursday.
“What can I do for you? Can I help you?” Shaw recalls what he had told the officer.
He said he wanted to inform the agent that he had documents to show that the employee is qualified for the job. Surveillance footage does not have audio.
“This is how ice works in our community,” Desimone said. “They don’t use physical force to speak to people to see who is legally there to do their job. Instead, they immediately resort to strength.”
After Shouhed was taken into custody, he said he showed his ID to detention centre officers. He was kept in custody for 12 hours and released without charge, the claim says.
The agent will take six months to resolve or reject the claim, then Shouhed can file a lawsuit in federal court.
Several other US citizens filed civil rights claims against the government for being mistakenly detained during federal immigration enforcement activities in Southern California. They included Andrea Veles Detained June 24th On my way to work in downtown Los Angeles. She was detained for two days and faced charges of obstructing a federal officer who was ultimately dropped.
Federal immigration officials are also being scrutinized for their aggressive tactics in the attack. DHS usually defends its tactics, but institutions A rare responsibilities have been issued One of the officers on Friday after he shoved an Ecuadorian woman onto the floor in a New York courthouse.
