Gousse Vs. LAPD-Rampart Division Racial Profiling Trial Starts Monday.

News Editors/Legal Writers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 16, 2003

A lawsuit involving allegations of racial profiling will begin trial on Monday, October 20, 2003, at 9:30 AM in Los Angeles Superior Court before the Hon. Elizabeth A. Grimes. Urological reconstructive surgeon Dr. Angelo E. Gousse sued the Los Angeles Police Department, the City of Los Angeles, and Budget Rent-A-Car Corporation on June 21, 2001, for violation of his civil rights and negligence. He alleges that police misconduct during a traffic stop and later, at the Rampart Police Station, caused permanent injuries to his left arm and wrist. The trial is expected to last two weeks. Dr. Gousse is represented by Browne Greene with the Santa Monica, Calif., law firm of Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler, LLP and Sheldon J. Schlesinger of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Gousse vs. City of Los Angeles, Case No. BC 252804.)

On February 9, 2001, Dr. Gousse, a black man of Haitian descent, flew from his Miami home to Los Angeles to lecture at a UCLA-sponsored medical conference. He rented a red Ford Taurus from Budget Rent-A-Car's Los Angeles International Airport location. He did not know that Budget had purchased the car in May 2000, along with a gold Ford Taurus, and that the license plates on the two cars had been switched; or that on July 4, 2000, Budget had reported the gold Ford Taurus stolen.

On February 11, 2001, at approximately 2:00 AM, Dr. Gousse was driving the red Ford Taurus Budget Rent-A-Car westbound on Interstate 10 (Santa Monica Freeway) near the Arlington Avenue exit when he was pulled over by Rampart Division LAPD Officers Mario Rojas and Javier Mora. Several back-up units and a police helicopter were called to the scene. An officer with a bullhorn ordered Dr. Gousse to throw his keys out on the ground and then exit the vehicle.

With the guns of at least six police officers pointed at his head and the helicopter roaring above him, Dr. Gousse was ordered to lie down on the ground. One officer jammed his leg into Dr. Gousse's back. Dr. Gousse was handcuffed in violation of LAPD procedure, which requires the police to check for tightness and to "double lock" the handcuffs to prevent them from getting tighter. The Rampart officers began directing racial remarks at him, such as being told: "Hey, boy, you're in Los Angeles now." Officers Clinton Achziger and Marco Oropeza and Sergeants Robert Hamilton and William Arellano were also present.

At the scene, Dr. Gousse tried to tell the Rampart police that he was a doctor in town for a medical conference and that the rental documents for the car were in the glove compartment. The police refused to listen. They made no effort to look at his identification, or to retrieve the exculpatory documents.

The LAPD arrested Dr. Gousse without telling him why. Then, with alleged excessive force and violence, they pulled him up from the ground by his arms in violation of LAPD procedures, put him in a squad car and took him to the Rampart police station. In the back seat of the car, Dr. Gousse complained that the handcuffs were too tight and were hurting his hands. The police ignored his requests to loosen the cuffs. He was told that if he continued to move around, the handcuffs would only get tighter, evidence that the handcuffs had not been double locked. The barrage of racial and verbal abuse that had begun from the onset of the traffic stop continued.

The LAPD's policy in Grand Theft Auto investigations includes: (1) obtaining ownership documents from the vehicle, (2) running the Vehicle Identification Number on the Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) to determine if the vehicle is stolen, and (3) checking the suspect's identification. The LAPD officers deposed in this lawsuit admitted that these steps would have taken only a few minutes to complete at the scene, and that it was LAPD policy to do so. They also admitted that they failed to take any of these steps before taking Dr. Gousse to the Rampart station.

At the Rampart station, Dr. Gousse finally learned that he had been arrested for the alleged theft of Budget's car. He was never read his Miranda rights. By this time, the handcuffs had tightened on his wrists to the point where his hands had gone numb. The handcuffs were removed, but only after the police put Dr. Gousse in a jail cell. Dr. Gousse had never been arrested or even gotten a traffic ticket. He was a law-abiding citizen who had come to the United States to study medicine and went on to become one of the leading surgeons in his field.

While in custody, Dr. Gousse was questioned by Sergeants Daniel Charles Bunch and Michael Gerard Daly. After the officers conducted an investigation at the station, they learned via an MDT transmission that the "rental company screwed up" and that Dr. Gousse's arrest was improper. Instead of letting him go, the police began running a tape recorder and making self-serving statements. They asked Dr. Gousse leading questions in an attempt to "cover up" the police officers' misconduct, but he did not succumb to this ruse.

Dr. Gousse was in custody for almost two hours. He was never offered even the weakest of apologies when he was finally allowed to leave. The rental car was impounded and he was driven back to his hotel by a police officer who, as Dr. Gousse recalled in his deposition, told him: "You know, you should think about sending us a thank you card." Dr. Gousse replied, "A thank you card?" And the officer then said, "Yeah, we didn't treat you that badly... it's incredible that we got you in and you were not booked. That's very unusual."

Before the incident, Dr. Gousse was a successful urological surgeon working as an associate professor for the University of Miami School of Medicine. He was on the verge of launching his own private practice, specializing in reconstructive surgery. As a result of the LAPD's misconduct, Dr. Gousse has been diagnosed with a radial sensory nerve injury and a brachial plexus injury. He is now severely limited in the duration and types of surgeries that he can perform, and is often relegated to acting in a supervisory role in the surgical suite.

As Browne Greene explained: "Dr. Gousse was `guilty' of only one thing: Driving While Black. Had he been a white man, the LAPD's Rampart officers would have looked at Dr. Gousse's identification, would have retrieved the exculpatory rental documents that were in the glove compartment, and probably never would have handcuffed or arrested him. Instead, and with utter disregard of Dr. Gousse's civil rights and of the very laws that they swore to uphold, the police acted like brutes intent on doing all that they could to hurt and debase Dr. Gousse.

"Budget Rent-A-Car's negligence set the stage," added Browne Greene, "and they bear some responsibility here, but it was the actions of the LAPD's Rampart officers that turned Dr. Gousse's American dream into a Gothic nightmare. In one moment, he was just another person driving along the freeway, and in the next moment, he became the victim of racial hatred and physical violence. The police have ruined Dr. Gousse's career and his peace of mind forever. What the police did to Dr. Gousse is criminal, and that's why we'll do everything possible to see that justice is served."

"The events of February 11, 2001, have made me a changed man. I am haunted every time that I hear the sound of a helicopter or see a police car pass by. My dreams are more often than not nightmares. I had never been in trouble with the law before this horrendous incident, nor had I ever been arrested before. It was humiliating to have to beg the Rampart police to stop the pain caused by the handcuffs and to have my requests ignored all because I am a black man. I yearn to do the work that was my life's passion, but they have robbed me of that. As a physician, I know that I can't be made whole and this only exacerbates my feelings of frustration and hopelessness.

"Racial profiling is an evil upon this land," commented Dr. Gousse, "and none of us can truly be free until we are rid of it. And, that is why I intend to make it my goal to raise my voice and speak out against this injustice until it becomes a thing of the past."

Editor's Note #1:

Angelo E. Gousse, age 40, immigrated to the United States from Haiti in 1982. He is a Phi Beta Kappa Valedictorian of York College, City University of New York. He received his medical degree with highest honors from Yale University School of Medicine, and was a recipient of the Jonas Salk Scholarship for the Study of Medicine. Dr. Gousse completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine and his fellowship in urology at the UCLA School of Medicine. He is married and has two children. His wife, Marie May Gousse (age 36 and a pharmacist), is a co-plaintiff is this case.

Editor's Note #2:

Plaintiffs are represented by Browne Greene and Mark Quigley with Greene, Broillet, Panish & Wheeler, LLP (www.gbpwlaw.com); Tel: [phone]; and Sheldon J. Schlesinger of Fort Lauderdale; Tel: [phone].

Defendant City of Los Angeles is represented by Cory Brente and Christian Bojorquez with the City Attorney's Office; Tel: [phone]. Defendant Budget Rent-A-Car is represented by James B. Hardin with Call, Jensen & Ferrell; Tel: [phone].