Two Indian American Women Sue LAPD Alleging They Were Wrongfully Targeted by Officers During Traffic Stop

[zarathustra]

In the aftermath of a traffic stop in Los Angeles that resulted in an officer handcuffing and holding two Indian American women at gunpoint, the women have filed suit against the Los Angeles Police Department.

CBS News reports that the two women are suing the Los Angeles Police Department after they say officers wrongfully targeted them during a "terrifying and unnecessary" traffic stop last year.

Shibani Balsaver and Sheilanee Sen rented a U-Haul to move from one apartment to another when they were pulled over by L.A. police, the report notes.

 

Officers, apparently believing the truck was stolen, handcuffed the women and held them on the ground at gunpoint — with the incident being captured on video, the CBS News report said.

"It was terrifying," Sen told CBS Los Angeles: "It was probably the most afraid I've been in my life."

Sen, who works in community development, was helping Balsaver, a film producer, move into a new apartment in February 2020. They rented a U-Haul truck to transport Balsaver's belongings from Hollywood to Los Feliz — about a five-minute drive, the report noted.

In a blog post chronicling the incident, Balsaver said a police vehicle was following her most of the drive between her old and new apartments, but she thought little of it, and was confused when it followed her to her new block, according to the report. 

The women said at least 10 officers arrived with their guns drawn — and they could hear a helicopter overhead. Balsaver described the panic she felt as more cop cars arrived, saying that no one came to the window of the truck to explain what was happening, as a handful of police cars arrived at the scene, as the report described the incident.

The women say police ordered them to exit the vehicle with their hands behind their heads. They alleged officers then slammed them to the ground, and they were unable to properly hear commands due to the loud helicopter, it said.

Sen's boyfriend, Roger, arrived at the apartment ahead of the women and filmed the interaction, after being told by police to "stand back," according to the report. 

"I am grateful that this will not go unnoticed, yet all I can I think is I am going to die alone on camera," Balsaver wrote, the report said.

 

Describing the gun pointed at her, Balsaver wrote, "This is a gun that requires a long body strap just to hold it. This is a gun that shouldn't be meant for anyone, certainly not for Shona and me." 

"I feel a knee push down hard into my back. Another forces my head down," she continued. "They grab my right hand, twist my arm behind me, and wrap a cuff around my hand. I lift my left and they do the same," the CBS News report said.

The women said they were not told why they were pulled over until after they were handcuffed. Balsaver told an officer that a receipt for the truck, rented earlier that morning, was in her bag, the report adds.

Balsaver said that, after she proved her innocence with the receipt, officers joked and teased her about the incident, telling her to "demand free U-Haul services for a year." 

Balsaver said the LAPD told her that officers had not yet been trained to decipher between stolen and recovered vehicles in the department's "new" four-month-old system. U-Haul had reported the vehicle as recovered several weeks prior to the incident, the report continued.

U-Haul told CBS News that the incident did not involve any error on behalf of U-Haul. It declined to comment on the lawsuit. 

Balsaver and Sen's attorney, Brian Olney, alleges the officers used "high-risk procedures" during a traffic stop that was not high risk and involved an alleged non-violent property crime, according to CBS News.

"Courts have made very clear, but the LAPD refuses to listen," Olney said in the report. "They know what the law is, they're sworn to uphold it, but they made a deliberate decision to break it."

The lawsuit names the city, LAPD chief Michael Moore, two officers and a sergeant. It also includes 10 unnamed officers as defendants. The lawsuit said that the women have not received an apology from the police department. They are seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

LAPD did not immediately respond to CBS News' inquiry, it said.

[zarathustra]

https://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/two-indian-american-women-sue-lapd-alleging-they-were-wrongfully-targeted-by-officers-during-traffic/article_c5619f1c-b2f0-11eb-b85a-6fe8053236e8.html

[Pitta]

[seematapakaya]

Video unda . 

[Pavanonline]

overreaction ok as they thought its a stolen vehicle, but where is racism angle here?

[r2d2]

Balsaver, a film producer....

mamool ivvaledani aapaaranta..

[ShruteSastry]

why would any cop go that far, if you comply. This is just banking on the prevailing issue.

[zarathustra]

52 minutes ago, ShruteSastry said:

why would any cop go that far, if you comply. This is just banking on the prevailing issue.

If they sued they have very strong video evidence most definitely. 

Its because the cops went that far that they are being sued. This is the problem with the Indian community, instead of voicing against such excesses we end up questioning the narrative. 

[zarathustra]

1 hour ago, Pavanonline said:

overreaction ok as they thought its a stolen vehicle, but where is racism angle here?

Acha aa angle cheppi chesthara cops? Same logic applies to other cases too, maybe you should tell that to other victims of police excesses 

[pakbanda]

58 minutes ago, zarathustra said:

If they sued they have very strong video evidence most definitely. 

Its because the cops went that far that they are being sued. This is the problem with the Indian community, instead of voicing against such excesses we end up questioning the narrative. 

Video undhi bro i just saw it. Mundhu emindho telidhu video lo ithey i saw them lying on road. 

[pakbanda]

2 hours ago, Pavanonline said:

overreaction ok as they thought its a stolen vehicle, but where is racism angle here?

Neku e sari traffic stop lo point blank lo gun petti reason “ dont blink your eyes sir ledha shot chestanu “ ani chepthey cop gadu malli ikadiki vere id lo vachi victim theead esthav angle kavalanta 😂. Wait for the update.

[TriStateBabu]

ee khaki kukkalaki kaavalsindey le womerica lo, pathetic ayyaru lekhi uniform sanjas 

[Pavanonline]

1 hour ago, pakbanda said:

Neku e sari traffic stop lo point blank lo gun petti reason “ dont blink your eyes sir ledha shot chestanu “ ani chepthey cop gadu malli ikadiki vere id lo vachi victim theead esthav angle kavalanta 😂. Wait for the update.

Things like this happen every day in usa, if you see racist angle in everything you are the racist. Article lo ekkada race gurinchi matladaledanedi na point. So nee uddesham lo every traffic stop is racist? Cops overreacted here because stolen vehicles are big issue, specially due to terrorism and drugs. IDs create cheskune time waste alavatu naku Ledu, neeku experience baga unatundi.

[Pavanonline]

3 hours ago, zarathustra said:

Acha aa angle cheppi chesthara cops? Same logic applies to other cases too, maybe you should tell that to other victims of police excesses 

Police excess is different from targeting. I’m not suggesting what cops did to them is right.

[pakbanda]

3 hours ago, Pavanonline said:

Things like this happen every day in usa, if you see racist angle in everything you are the racist. Article lo ekkada race gurinchi matladaledanedi na point. So nee uddesham lo every traffic stop is racist? Cops overreacted here because stolen vehicles are big issue, specially due to terrorism and drugs. IDs create cheskune time waste alavatu naku Ledu, neeku experience baga unatundi.

Evadu anadu racist ani avesha padaku. Inka matter complete ga telidhu details vachina tarvtha telsidhi. Every traffic is a racist ani nenima anana brother? Ah vehicle stolen oh kadho asalu complete details em teliyadhu ga so wait. Evadu racist angle oh chudaledhu le gani prasthutaniki humiliating ga untadhi evarnana ala

chesthey.