The owner of a Van Nuys car wash has filed a $50-million claim against federal immigration authorities for allegedly violating his civil and constitutional rights as well as for inflicting injuries he sustained during an immigration raid at his business this month.
Rafie Ollah Shouhed, 79, a U.S. citizen, filed the claim on Wednesday, accusing federal immigration agents of using excessive force and showing indifference to a serious medical condition, a violation of both his civil and constitutional rights.
The claim was filed against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. A claim usually precedes a lawsuit.
A Homeland Security spokesperson said in a written statement that the targeted operation resulted in the arrest of five people suspected of being in the country illegally, including one that had been deported twice in 2015.
The spokesperson said the owner of the car wash “impeded the operation and was arrested for assaulting and impeding a federal officer.”
In a phone interview, V. James Desimone, Shouhed‘s attorney, denied the agency’s allegation and said his client was trying to talk to agents who instead resorted to force.
“That’s defamation. They’re slandering him by saying he assaulted agents because there was no assault,” he said. “This is a part of their practice of accusing people who are expressing any dissent to accuse them of assault.”
The federal claim stems from a federal immigration raid carried out on Sept. 9 at the Valley Car Wash on Van Nuys Boulevard.
Surveillance footage shared with The Times shows a peaceful and quiet day at the car wash when an employee is seen rushing into the business to warn Shouhed that federal agents were outside. Shouhed is then seen dashing outside to the front of the business, where in the short distance he sees agents chasing after workers.
Shouhed then rushes back inside, where he comes across a federal agent who shoves him to the ground and steps over him while continuing to run outside. Shouhed slowly gets up and follows the agent outside to the front of the car wash, where he sees the same agent detaining one of his workers.
As the agent tries to take the detained worker away, Shouhed can be seen approaching the agent before he is taken to the ground by another agent as a third agent rushes over to help.
“This guy could have been a linebacker and thought he was on Monday Night Football, the way he comes and takes a 79-year-old man and slams him down on the ground. You can see the effects of what happened to his elbow,” DeSimone said during a news conference held on the day they filed the claim.
DeSimone said his client was trying to speak to federal agents to inform them that his employees had documentation to prove they were authorized to work in the U.S. but that the agents ignored him.
“The video shows this is the way ICE is operating in our community — they use physical force and do not speak to the people in order to ascertain who was there legally in order to do their job,” DeSimone said.
Photos of Shouhed’s injuries shared with The Times show a large bump on his elbow. They also show multiple bruises on his arms, legs and wrists from the incident.
“In the process, the agents severely caused injuries to Mr. Shouhed, including but not limited to multiple busted ribs causing severe chest-wall trauma with extensive rib contusions (pain with respiration), and bilateral elbow injuries characterized by deep contusions and hematomas with marked swelling and reduced range of motion,” the claim read in part.
DeSimone said his client could have been seriously injured, even killed, if his head had struck the ground. As the three agents piled on top of him, he said they told Shouhed: “You don’t f— with ICE.”
DeSimone said Shouhed wasn’t trying to impede the agents but rather give information to the agents and protect his employees, the people he considers to be family.
He said the agents repeatedly ignored Shouhed’s request for medical attention as he was having trouble breathing. Shouhed had recently undergone heart surgery, in which three stents had been installed, DeSimone said. A stent is a small tube that helps open up a blocked artery.
DeSimone said agents also ignored Shouhed’s nephew when he asked that his uncle receive medical treatment.
After the ICE and CBP agents handcuffed Shouhed, they took him to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. DeSimone said the agents still refused to let him go after Shouhed showed proof that he was a U.S. citizen and that they continued to refuse medical attention.
“Mr. Shouhed was released after approximately 12 hours without charges,” the claim read. “Upon his release, Mr. Shouhed was taken to a local hospital by his daughter for excruciating pain from the impact to his chest and his torso, shortness of breath, injuries to elbows and contusions on both arms.”
Shouhed is continuing to receive medical care for the injuries, the claim notes.
Asked during Wednesday’s news conference if he had anything to say to President Trump, Shouhed told reporters he had a lot to say.
“Be nice to these people,” he said. “They’re hard workers. They’re just here to make a living.”
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