An Uber driver has filed a federal lawsuit claiming San Diego police illegally arrested and jailed him last November in retaliation for using his phone to videotape their activity.

Rashid Adan claims police violated his free speech rights by arresting him so that he’d stop recording, and that they violated his right against unlawful search because he was arrested and had his car impounded without probable cause.

The lawsuit also claims the incident is emblematic of deeper problems within the Police Department regarding training, supervision and protocol.

The decision to arrest Adan “for no conceivably valid reason represents a larger systemic issue with predatory policing and a culture among the SDPD that encourages violence,” the lawsuit says.


In court documents, attorneys for the city say the officer who made the arrest, Jason Langley, acted in good faith and “with a reasonable belief that his conduct was lawful and necessary.”

The city also contends that Langley “attempted to persuade Adan to follow directions and in doing so, only used force necessary for the occasion.”

During the Nov. 4 incident that spurred the lawsuit, Adan claims Langley told him he was illegally parked while waiting for his next Uber fare in an unspecified part of downtown about 2:30 a.m.

When Adan offered to move his car, Langley said he was going to ticket him anyway, according to the suit, which was filed last month.


Adan responded that he was going to use his smartphone to record the incident, which prompted Langley to say that such behavior would result in Adan’s arrest and impounding of his car, the suit says.

When Adan began taping, Langley called a tow truck, arrested Adan, placed him in a police cruiser, had his car impounded and eventually brought Adan to jail and had him booked, the suit says.

The actions by Langley violate Adan’s First Amendment free speech rights and Fourth Amendment rights against illegal search and seizure, the suit says.

Adan claims the incident has caused him emotional pain, mental anguish, humiliation and harm to his reputation.


Because other officers participated in the arrest and vehicle impounding, the entire Police Department is to blame, the suit says.

The suit says the behavior by police was “willful, wanton, malicious and done with reckless disregard.” It seeks punitive damages, to discourage similar behavior in the future, and compensatory damages.

Because the city has settled previous cases involving alleged intimidation and retaliation, the suit says the Police Department has a pattern of behavior that “tacitly condones retaliatory arrests.”

In court documents, the city says Adan was negligent and careless, making him at least partly responsible for the incident.


In addition, the city contends that a justification for the police activity is that Adan committed a prohibited action – parking in an illegal spot.

An Oct. 17 settlement discussion in the case has been scheduled by U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Goddard.