Immigration protesters claim police brutality

Two men who rallied in support of immigrant rights at a contentious rally in Murrieta last year have filed a federal lawsuit against Murrieta Police and against the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, claiming police refused to intervene when anti-immigration demonstrators verbally and physically attacked them.

The lawsuit also claims the plaintiffs were arrested without reason and were abused while in police custody. One of the men claims officers broke his ribs during his arrest.

Pouyan Bokaei and Salvador Alejandro Chavez, two U.S. citizens who support immigrant rights, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court on Monday. The two were charged with "lynching" following the protests but the charges were dropped earlier this year.

"When anti-immigration demonstrators began to verbally and physically attack refugee supporters, Murrieta Police Department who were present refused to intervene," the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit also said that Bokaei and Chavez were abused while in custody of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and that the men were denied any medical treatment for their injuries, which resulted in Chavez contracting a serious antibiotic-resistant infection.

"The police made it very clear that they agreed with the anti-immigration people and were not going to do anything to protect the pro-immigration people," said Gerald Singleton, the men's attorney.

"There was absolutely no legal basis to arrest them."

Jeff Morris, assistant city attorney for the city of Murrieta, said they have yet to be served with the lawsuit but are aware of the circumstances.

"Until we review the lawsuit, we're not going to be in a position to respond," Morris told The Desert Sun Tuesday on behalf of the city and its police department.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department said it was aware that Bokaei and Chavez had previously filed damage claims against the agency and that a federal lawsuit "may have been recently filed on behalf of both claimants" but declined to comment further.

Murrieta, a quiet suburban town in Southwestern Riverside County, became a hotbed for the national immigration debate last summer.

About a year ago to the date, more than 100 protesters — who waved American flags and signs that clearly stated their opposition to "new illegals" and higher taxes — waited all day in the hot sun for three charter buses carrying undocumented immigrants from Central America to arrive at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection station in Murrieta.

Federal agents tried to avoid a confrontation by taking a route that steered clear of the station's front entrance, but their plans were sabotaged when protesters created a human wall that blocked the street. The buses were unable to evade the crowd, prompting authorities to abandon the transfer. The buses returned the immigrant families to a processing center in San Diego County.

The clash was a chaotic start to the federal government's plan to ease overcrowding in facilities in Texas' Rio Grande Valley. The government relocated some of those immigrant families to Southern California.

The rallies continued for several days, culminating on July 4 with anti- and pro-immigrant parties coming face-to-face.

Bokaei, Chavez and three others were charged with lynching following the protests. The Riverside County District Attorney's office, however, dropped those charges against Bokaei and Chavez in February.

Prosecutors moved to dismiss the charges in "the interest of justice," according to court documents.

The District Attorney's Office has said previously that all charges were based on an investigation by Murrieta police.

Three other protesters, who were arrested alongside the two plaintiffs also had most of their charges dismissed. They each pleaded guilty to misdemeanor resisting arrest, but underlying charges of lynching and assault on a police office were dropped. The three protesters were sentenced to two years probation.

Lynching is "the taking by means of a riot of any person from the lawful custody of any police officer," according to state law. It is punishable by two to four years in prison.

Videos of the immigration protest emerged last year.

The 15-minute video compilation, supplied to The Desert Sun by Singleton, splices portions of footage and has been sent to prosecutors.

The Murrieta Police Department previously told The Desert Sun an officer was questioning Mathieson about a reported assault during the protest and planned to arrest her for obstructing his investigation, when Bokaei tried to free her. Mathieson jumped on the officer's back when he turned to arrest Bokaei, authorities said, and the three other people arrested tried freeing Bokaei and Mathieson.

While an officer can be heard in the video saying someone jumped on another officer's back, no footage depicting that is in the video the lawyer compiled.

Singleton said the timing of the lawsuit — which falls on the 1-year anniversary of the protests — was coincidental. Filing of the lawsuit was delayed until Bokaei and Chavez were cleared of any criminal charges.

The lawsuit names the city of Murrieta, Murrieta Police, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and several officers as defendants in the lawsuit.

Reporters Dave Nyczepir and Brett Kelman contributed to this story.