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‘Drug Him Out of His Vehicle, Sat Him on a Nearby Curb Like an Animal’: Man Files Lawsuits Against Prince George’s County and Police Department, Claims ‘Untrained and Rogue’ Officers Violated His Civil Rights

A new lawsuit has been filed against Prince George’s County and two officers of the Prince George’s County Police Department, after a Black man alleged his civil rights were violated during an April 2022 traffic stop. Lawyers representing the man alleged he was a victim of police brutality, claiming that at least one officer put a gun to his head while he was being detained.

On Thursday, Aug. 11, Malik Z. Shabazz of Black Lawyers for Justice conducted a news conference on behalf of Umar Ali, a 21-year-old man, who the lawyer says was “illegally detained and falsely arrested,” on Sunday, April 3, at a checkpoint along Sweitzer Lane after leaving a car show in Laurel, Maryland, early in the morning, WUSA 9 reports.

The focus of the conference was to announce a new lawsuit naming Prince George’s County and two PGPD officers as defendants.

The claim includes one count of false imprisonment/false arrest and one count of assault and battery based on the officers’ conduct on that day, adding that Prince George’s County was negligent in not properly giving training and supervision that could have prevented the violent engagement.

“Untrained and rogue officers from Prince George’s County, completely disregarded reasonable procedures to substantiate that Mr. Ali was within his lawful rights to possess his firearm; and they proceeded and treated Mr. Ali like a criminal,” Shabazz stated in a press release.  

He stated by doing so, he “completely embarrassed and humiliated Umar Ali in front of a crowd of spectators.”

The arrest was captured on video. A bystander filmed 1:56 minutes of the officers seemingly violating Ali.

“An officer pointed a gun directly in Mr. Ali’s face, another team besieged him and handcuffed him, drug him out of his vehicle, and sat him on a nearby curb like an animal,” the lawyer continued, before saying, “Officers then forced Mr. Ali to walk some distance, and he was forced to pass a gauntlet of County officers who jeered and insulted him, presuming him guilty of some crime. Mr. Ali was then arrested, placed in a County Police car, and driven off to the police station.”

The attorney claims officers became hostile to his young client after he announced he was a registered gun, presented his firearm permit, and had a Glock-17 concealed in his car.

Shabazz argues this is about “the rights of a Black gun owner.”

Pointing to the actual permit, the lawyer said at the press conference the police failed to follow instructions that told them “Please contact Maryland Guns Center prior to any law enforcement action.”

Ali’s counsel said no one called the center regarding the permit and his client’s authorized carrying of it. The arresting agency has not confirmed or denied reaching out to the guns center on this matter.

After revealing he had a gun, Ali says the officers “went wild” and at one point placed a gun to his head, before dragging him out of the car. He was handcuffed, detained, and placed in a patrol vehicle before being sent to the Laurel police station.

Fox 5 news reported that Ali said in April at a news conference announcing a separate lawsuit against the Prince George’s Police Department that he didn’t think anything of the stop at first. 

“I wasn’t hesitant to go into it because it was just like I had no reason to be nervous or hesitant,” he claimed. 

“When they pulled me out of the car, and they put me on the curb, I’m explaining to the cop to read the back of my permit which will tell you I have no restrictions on my permit. He’s sitting up there trying to tell me it’s fake and that the car is stolen and this and that. That’s the frustrating part.”

The police also searched Ali’s car before driving off to have Ali booked.

However, on their way to the station, one of the officers received a call informing them of the validity of Ali’s gun permit.

At this point, Shabazz reveals, his client was released from the handcuffs and freed to go.

The altercation has traumatized Ali, causing him to feel uncomfortable carrying his legal weapon.

“Honestly I don’t carry my firearm,” said Ali. “I feel more endangered.”

“I was treated like an animal,” Ali continued. “Is the system really built for me? Is the second amendment and fourth amendment even valid?”

Ali is seeking $700,000 in damages against the county and $500,000 from the police force.

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