79-Year-Old US Citizen Claims ICE Agents Body-Slammed Him at His Business, Seeks $50M

A 79-year-old Los Angeles business owner has filed a $50 million federal administrative claim after claiming he was body-slammed and detained by federal immigration agents during a Sept. 9 raid at his Van Nuys car wash.

Rafie Ollah Shouhed reportedly suffered multiple broken ribs, elbow injuries, and a traumatic brain injury, according to his attorneys’ federal tort claim.

Surveillance video shows an agent appearing to detain another man in the parking lot. When Shouhed approached, another agent struggled with him before a third agent forced him to the ground.

Allegations of excessive force

Shouhed’s claim states that when he tried to show agents proof of his employees’ work authorization, agents “cursed at him” and violently body-slammed him onto the pavement. Three agents allegedly pinned him down, with one placing a knee on his neck.

Shouhed told agents, “If there is anything I can do for you, let me help you. I have papers for these guys.”
Agents reportedly responded, “You don’t f— with ICE. We are here.”

At a press conference, Shouhed described his ordeal:

“Three big people were sitting on my back, the way they tore me down… I was begging them. I have a heart condition.”

Authorities reportedly confirmed Shouhed’s U.S. citizenship shortly after his arrival at the Metropolitan Detention Center but continued to hold him for nearly 12 hours without medical attention.

Federal tort claim details

The tort claim, filed against the Department of Homeland Security and its sub-agencies, alleges:

Assault and battery
Civil rights violations
Deliberate indifference to serious medical conditions

It also claims these agencies maintain policies that “tolerate and condone the use of excessive force.”

“This was an outrageous and unlawful assault on a 79-year-old American citizen in his own place of business,” said V. James DeSimone, Shouhed’s attorney. “If this can happen in broad daylight to an American senior citizen who committed no crime, it can happen to anyone.”

The claim notes that Shouhed temporarily closed his business after employees, including U.S. citizens, feared returning to work.

Federal officials have not yet responded to the claim, according to DeSimone, and ABC News has reached out to DHS without a reply.