(Cleveland) - A man arrested in Downtown Cleveland while the area was under a curfew due to rioting and looting in May, has sued the city for violating his Constitutional rights.
During the downtown curfew, only residents were allowed to move in and out of the area. Mehdi Mollahasani says he was walking to meet an Instacart driver who was not allowed into downtown, when he was stopped by Cleveland Police. His drivers license was from New York, but he carried with him a pay stub with an East 9th Street address, and his digital grocery receipt on his phone.
When Mollahasani was stopped by police, he said he was not a looter, but according to his suit, a sergeant said, "you look like one."
Mollahasani spent two days in jail, was charged with a misdemeanor charge of failure to comply with a police order. The charge was eventually dropped, with Cleveland Municipal Court listing "groceries/Instacart order" as the reason.
In the suit filed in U.S. District Court, Mollahasani says his Fourth and 14th Amendment rights were violated. He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
(Photo by Joe Raedle, Getty Images)
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