A Black former Marine and security company owner who was pulled over, handcuffed, and searched by San Diego police twice in less than a year, including once at gunpoint over a legally owned firearm, is suing the city and two officers for racial discrimination and civil rights violations.
Hakimkhalfani Webb, 62, served 21 years in the Marine Corps across three combat deployments and has no criminal record, according to the federal lawsuit filed June 19 in U.S. District Court in California and obtained by Atlanta Black Star.
Traffic Stop Over a Missing License Plate Turns Into a Gun-Point Detention
On June 14, 2025, Webb was driving home from a security job in San Diego with his lawfully registered 9mm Glock pistol in his vehicle. He’d recently swapped the front bumper on his work truck and hadn’t yet reattached the front plate, which was sitting inside the cab.
That was enough for officers Michael Hagen and Adrian Villanueva to pull him over. When they spotted his gun, both officers drew their weapons on him. Webb says he raised his hands, told them he was a licensed security guard, and explained the Glock was for work. Hagen allegedly told Webb repeatedly that he would shoot him. Webb says he responded that he understood and would comply.
Officers handcuffed Webb, placed him in the patrol car, and asked to search his truck. He refused, so they searched it anyway, telling him his consent no longer mattered. They found nothing illegal.
Officers Arrest Him Over a Gun That Was Legally His
After running the Glock through a database, Hagen told Webb he was being arrested because the gun wasn’t registered to him, despite Webb having owned and registered it since 2001, and despite carrying a valid Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS) gun permit at the time of the stop.
Officers photographed him, released him from cuffs, and issued a misdemeanor citation for allegedly possessing an unregistered firearm. They never cited him for the license plate. They did, however, confiscate his gun.
Three months later, prosecutors confirmed they wouldn’t pursue charges. The lawsuit says the city knew by mid-September that Webb’s gun was properly registered all along, the mistake stemmed from an officer who failed to run the full serial number during the stop.
Webb says the seizure cost him real money: without his preferred 9mm for jobs requiring him to repeatedly enter and exit his vehicle, he couldn’t bid on certain security contracts. The city didn’t return the gun until December 2025, after he paid $40 in fees.
A Second Stop, Days After He Asked the City to Clear His Record
On Jan. 23, 2026, Webb formally requested that San Diego seal and destroy records from his June arrest. The very next day, he spotted Officer Villanueva’s patrol car in South San Diego. Villanueva made a U-turn and began following him.
Webb says he came to a complete stop at three separate stop signs. After the third, Villanueva pulled him over anyway, claiming he’d rolled through it. Despite full compliance, Webb was again ordered out of his vehicle, handcuffed, placed in the patrol car, and made to pose for “mug-shot style” photos from the front and side. He was held roughly 30 minutes, surrounded by additional armed officers, then released, and no citation was issued.
Lawsuit Cites Data Showing Black Drivers Stopped at More Than Double Their Population Share
Webb’s complaint argues both stops were pretextual and rooted in racial profiling, not actual traffic violations. It leans on data collected under California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA), which requires law enforcement to report stop data to the state Attorney General.
Per that data, Black residents made up roughly 14.13 percent of all San Diego vehicle stops between November 2023 and May 2026 — despite being just 5.6 percent of the city’s population. That’s a stop rate the lawsuit calculates at 2.52 times what would be expected based on population alone.
White residents, by contrast, accounted for about 34.5 percent of stops while making up 40.9 percent of the population. The data also shows Black drivers are over 300 percent more likely to have property searched and 280 percent more likely to be photographed during a stop than white drivers.
What the Lawsuit Demands
Webb’s suit accuses the City of San Diego and officers Hagen and Villanueva of unlawful search and seizure, warrantless arrest, discriminatory treatment, and negligent handling of his property, plus a broader claim that the department fails to train and supervise officers against race-based policing.
He’s seeking a jury trial, damages for financial and emotional harm, punitive damages, and a court order targeting an end to race-based stops within SDPD.
“These recurring stops by the police are terrifying and dangerous,” Webb told Times of San Diego. “I feel blessed that so far I have not been physically injured when the police point their weapons at me. But it’s past time for this to stop. I’m speaking out now before my blessings run out.”
His attorney, Michele A. McKenzie, said Webb hopes the case pushes San Diego to adopt RIPA Board recommendations and curb pretextual stops altogether, calling current practices something that “do not make communities safer.”
“Mr. Webb hopes to live and work in San Diego without fearing dangerous encounters with the police,” McKenzie told Atlanta Black Star.
“Since he legally carries a weapon for work, it raises the stakes in encounters with law enforcement. Mr. Webb has worked hard his whole life to be an upstanding citizen and wants to be treated with the same regard and respect afforded to other community members. He hopes his lawsuit will raise awareness about the continuing disparate treatment of Black men by police in San Diego and result in concrete changes: especially better training for and oversight of law enforcement.”
A spokesperson for the San Diego City Attorney’s Office declined to comment, citing pending litigation. The city and officers have 21 days from being served to respond in court.
