Claim Filed Against L.A. Cops

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A surgeon filed a claim against the Police Department Tuesday, contending racial profiling led officers to mistakenly arrest him after he was stopped on a freeway.

He was tightly handcuffed and received career-threatening injuries, the doctor contends.

''I want to stand up for justice, to stand up for an end to racial profiling,'' said 37-year-old Angelo Gousse at a news conference outside Los Angeles Superior Court. ''We cannot allow this to continue.''

Gousse, who is black, was stopped Feb. 11 on Interstate 10. He was detained several hours at the Rampart station, the focus last year of the largest corruption scandal in the city's history. He was never charged with any offense.

Gousse, of Miami, said police told him he had been detained because of a problem with his rental car's license plates, but offered no apology.

Police spokesman Sgt. John Pasquariello said Tuesday the department had no knowledge of the incident but would investigate.

Gousse's claim, filed with the city attorney's office, asks for unspecified damages for wrist and arm nerve damage. He also seeks compensation for civil-rights violations, lost earnings and post-traumatic stress.

A ban on racial profiling was among federally monitored reforms the LAPD recently agreed to in the wake of the corruption probe. More than 100 Los Angeles residents were allegedly robbed, beaten, framed and shot by anti-gang officers.

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