LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – A 79-year-old Van Nuys car wash owner has filed a federal civil rights claim seeking $50 million after he says he was violently body slammed and pinned by federal agents during an immigration raid at his business on Sept. 9. The claim names the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement as defendants.
Rafie Ollah Shouhed, a longtime Valley Car Wash owner, said he was inside his business when masked agents stormed the premises. Surveillance video reviewed by Nexstar’s 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.
“They grabbed one of my guys, and I told them, hold on, some of these people have papers, they have the documentation here. And the only thing they said was, ‘You don’t F with ICE. We are here,’ and they threw me on the floor … and three of them, they jumped on me and they were sitting on me,” Shouhed told KTLA in a previous interview.
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.
After his release, Shouhed was treated at a local hospital for multiple broken ribs, elbow injuries, contusions, and post-concussive symptoms of a traumatic brain injury. He says he continues to suffer both physical and psychological effects.
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.
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.
Shouhed’s family said five of his employees were also detained during the raid.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the operation targeted five undocumented immigrants and that Shouhed, a U.S. citizen, was arrested for allegedly assaulting and impeding a federal officer.
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