Elderly U.S. Citizen Body Slammed by ICE and Border Patrol Agents During Van Nuys Raid Files $50 Million Civil Rights Claim

79-year-old business owner suffered broken ribs, serious injuries to his elbows and traumatic brain injury

MARINA DEL REY, CALIF., Sept. 25, 2025 – A 79-year-old U.S. citizen and business owner who was body slammed and pinned to the ground by armed federal agents during a Sept. 9 immigration raid in Van Nuys has filed a federal civil rights claim seeking $50 million in damages against the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Rafie Ollah Shouhed, the owner of a longtime Van Nuys car wash, was inside his business at 7530 Van Nuys Blvd. when masked agents stormed the premises in the late morning hours. Surveillance video shows an agent shoving Shouhed to the ground inside a hallway without warning as he tried to see what was happening.

When Shouhed stepped outside to speak with the agents, he offered to provide proof that his employees were authorized to work. Instead, agents cursed at him, pushed him back, and violently body-slammed him onto the pavement. Three agents then jumped on his back, with one forcing his knee onto Shouhed’s neck as others wrenched his arms behind him.

Shouhed 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. 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.

Upon release, his son rushed 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. Shouhed continues to suffer physical pain, psychological trauma, and the concerning effects of a traumatic brain injury.

“This was an outrageous and unlawful assault on a 79-year-old American citizen in his own place of business,” said V. James DeSimone, a Los Angeles civil rights attorney. “Federal agents body slammed Mr. Shouhed, pinned him to the ground with a knee on his neck, ignored his pleas for medical care, and left him broken and in pain for hours. Their actions violated the Constitution, California civil rights law, and basic human decency.”

Shouhed will speak at a press conference at 11 a.m. (Pacific) Thursday, Sept. 25, at the offices of V. James DeSimone Law, 13160 Mindanao Way, Suite 280, Marina del Rey, Calif. (Videos, photos and documents available here) The press conference will also stream on Instagram at @civilrightslawyerjimdesimone.

The $50 million claim filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act alleges assault, battery, violation of the California Bane Act (Civil Code Section 52.1), deliberate indifference to a serious medical condition in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and related torts. The filing also asserts that DHS, ICE, and CBP maintain policies and practices that tolerate and condone the use of excessive force.

“These masked agents’ conduct was lawless, reckless and cruel,” DeSimone said. “If this can happen in broad daylight to an American senior citizen who committed no crime, it can happen to anyone. This was not law enforcement, it was an assault on civil rights and our democracy cannot survive if federal agents operate above the law.”

Los Angeles civil rights attorney V. James DeSimone has dedicated his 40-year law career to providing vigorous and ethical representation to achieve justice for those whose civil and constitutional rights are violated.

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