United States District Court, C.D. California, Western Division
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] ...