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

Source: KTLA 5

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 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.

“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.

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