A 79-year-old car wash owner who says he was injured when agents body slammed and subjected him to other violent treatment during a Sept. 9 immigration raid at his business in Van Nuys announced a $50 million damages claim Thursday against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and related federal agencies.
The car wash owner, Rafie Ollah Shoued, was at the business at 7530 Van Nuys Blvd. when masked agents conducted a late-morning raid. According to Shouhed, who provided video and photographs to back up his claims, an agent shoved him to the ground in a hallway as he tried to find out what was going on.
He further claims that when he went outside to speak with the agents and show them papers proving the workers had authorization, he was cursed, pushed and then "violently body slammed ... onto the pavement," according to a statement provided by his attorneys.
During a news conference Thursday, Shoued told reporters he initially thought the people who raided his store were bounty hunters.
"I don't know where they came from," he said. "The way they treated me, they way they attacked me. I was begging (them), `I have a heart condition."'
He also said he pleaded with the agents when he was slammed to the ground, telling them, "I cannot breathe, I cannot breathe."
Shoued claims that three agents jumped on his back, with one of them putting his knee on Shouhed's neck as others pinned his arms behind his back.
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"Shoued cried out that he had recently undergone heart surgery and had three stents in his chest, that he could not breathe, and that he needed an ambulance," according to a statement from his attorneys. ``Agents ignored his pleas, handcuffed him and transported him to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, where he was held nearly 12 hours without medical attention. Even after agents admitted they knew he was a U.S. citizen, he was kept in custody, denied phone calls to his family and released without charges, he alleges.
Upon release, his son took him to a hospital, where doctors treated him for multiple broken ribs, serious injuries to his elbows, contusions and post-concussive symptoms of a traumatic brain injury. Shoued continues to suffer physical pain, psychological trauma and the concerning effects of a traumatic brain injury, according to his attorneys.
There was no immediate response from federal officials seeking comment on the claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit.
In addition to the Department of Homeland Security, the claim also names U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Shoued is being represented by V. James DeSimone Law.
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