CLEVELAND (AP) - A man arrested for trying to pick up a grocery order during a city-imposed curfew following racial injustice protests in downtown Cleveland sued in federal court on Tuesday the city and police officers who detained him.
Mehdi Mollahasani, 38, of Cleveland, spent two nights in jail after his arrest on May 31, according to the lawsuit filed by the civil rights firm Friedman, Gilbert + Gerhardstein. A judge dismissed the misdemeanor charge of failure to obey an order in October with a docket entry noting “groceries/instacart order.”
Cleveland established the curfew on May 30 after some protesters began vandalizing property and breaking into downtown stores. The following day, Mollahasani tried to walk from his downtown apartment to meet a delivery driver who told him she could not get past police barricades, the lawsuit said.
The first officer Mollahasani he met allowed him to pass. He encountered a second group of officers a few blocks away and explained where he was going. After asking officers to maintain social distance, he was asked to provide identification. Mollahasani showed them his New York driver’s license, a paystub listing his downtown Cleveland address and the receipt for his grocery order, the lawsuit said.
Mollahasani told the officers he was not a looter, prompting a sergeant to tell him, “You look like one,” the lawsuit said.
Cleveland.com reported that charges against more than 50 people arrested for violating curfew after the protests were eventually dismissed.
The complaint cites a number of violations of Mollahasani’s rights and seeks an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages.
Messages were left with a Cleveland spokesperson seeking comment about the lawsuit.
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