Sahakian v. City of Glendale

          MEMORANDUM AND ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO AMEND

          DOUGLAS F. McCORMICK United States Magistrate Judge

         I.

         BACKGROUND

         On June 13, 2016, Plaintiff Michael Sahakian (“Sahakian” or “Plaintiff”) filed this pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Dkt. 1 (“Complaint”). The Complaint names the following persons and entities as defendants, all in their official capacity: (1) City of Glendale; (2) Glendale Police Department (“GPD”); (3) “Does 1 through 25.” Complaint at 2-3.

         In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), the Court must screen the Complaint for purposes of determining whether the action is frivolous or malicious; or fails to state a claim on which relief might be granted; or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.

         II.

         SUMMARY OF ALLEGATIONS AND CLAIMS

         Sahakian alleges the following:

At 6:30 p.m. on June 11, 2014, “a few” police officers attacked him while he was standing outside of a 76 gas station. Complaint at 6. The police accused him of throwing a bicycle at the gas station window, but the police reports leading to his arrest were forged and created in retaliation for a lawsuit he had previously filed against the City of Glendale. Id. Video footage from the gas station would show that he was framed for the crime. Id.

         Sahakian was arrested and transported to the GPD, where he was held until 11:40 p.m. Id. at 5. At the police department, he was accused of being under the influence of drugs and a police officer made a racist joke about his Armenian nationality. Id. at 6.

         At 11:40 p.m., Sahakian was transported to Glendale Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Room for blood work and other injuries. Id. at 5. While he was at the hospital, he was attacked by “a few” Glendale police officers. Id. Glendale fire department and paramedic officials intervened and halted the attack. Id. at 6. The incident was captured on hospital video footage. Id. Sahakian received head trauma with a visible bruise. Id.

         Sahakian was booked into the Twin Towers Correctional Jail House on June 12 in the morning. Id. He was placed in a mental ward for three days, per the police department’s request. Id. Sahakian remained in that jail for seven or eight more months until the criminal charges against him were dropped. Id. According to Sahakian, the Glendale District Attorney tried to conceal the exculpatory video footage from the 76 gas station. Id.

         Sahakian claims that as a result of the head trauma, he suffered from seizures and had to be hospitalized at Glendale Adventist for almost three days. Id. at 7. He also claims that the GPD accused him of violating a restraining order brought by his neighbors, a restraining order orchestrated by a criminal investigator who had been harassing Sahakian for years. Id.

         In his Complaint, Sahakian cites: the Fourth Amendment (excessive force); the Fourteenth Amendment; false imprisonment; fraud under California Civil Code section 3294; California Government code 815.2, California Civil Code section 43; California Constitution Article 1, section 13; and racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliation under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 1981.^[1] ...