Source: http://travelunderground.org/index.php?threads/shoshana-hebshi-some-real-shock-and-awe-racially-profiled-and-cuffed-in-detroit.1035/page-16
Timestamp: 2019-11-14 10:57:12
Document Index: 583309616

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1981', '§ 40127', '§ 1981', '§ 2000', '§ 40127', '§ 1983', '§ 2671', '§ 1331', '§ 1343', '§ 1346', '§ 2401', '§ 1391']

Lawsuit - Shoshana Hebshi: Some Real Shock and Awe: Racially Profiled and Cuffed in Detroit | Page 16 | Travel Underground: Safety & Security
These unlicensed Leo competitors are giving free exams...
I couldn't believe the apd cavity search story when it first came out. Looks like it was. troo....@#!@...
Parolees don't get full 4th protections though...
Well, they also practice medicine by determining what medications are necessary or not, whether or not you need them, or whether or not you should take them on your flight.
They are amazing, these TSA people. And by amazing I mean amazingly stoopit.
yeah, well, that's another story. It looks like ATL police got the black eye on this one. TSA likely won't be pulling that unless they transfer the entire airport into TSA control and arm the clerks.
nachtnebel, Oct 5, 2011
You forgot the without a license part. They may be able to play that game with others, but when it comes to medications or medical supplies Im carrying its not gonna happen and Iwill throw down and have (expletive deleted) clowns arrested under a wide variety of options with the peace de resistance violations of the CSA (Controlled Substance Act). Its amazing how so many clowns (Including 3 stripers and suits) stop dead in there tracks when you mention "Federal Felony".
TravelnMedic, Oct 5, 2011
http://consumerist.com/2013/01/22/w...airlines-after-being-detained-strip-searched/
Back on Sept. 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, an Ohio woman was one of three people detained by authorities at Detroit Metro Airport, where she claims she was strip-searched and held without cause for four hours.
No charges were ever filed against any of the three passengers, but the woman is now suing airport officials, Frontier Airlines, and various federal authorities, including the TSA and the FBI.
To go back to the start, during the woman’s Frontier flight from Denver to Detroit, crew members reported suspicious activity. Specifically, they claimed that two male passengers, who were seated in the same row as the plaintiff but with whom she was not acquainted, were spending too much time in the bathroom. The plane was escorted to Detroit Metro by F-16 fighter jets.
In a blog post written the day after the events, the woman wrote that she had no idea that there was any problem until after the plane had landed on the tarmac.
“Before I knew it, about 10 cops, some in what looked like military fatigues, were running toward the plane carrying the biggest machine guns I have ever seen–bigger than what the guards carry at French train stations,” she wrote. “Someone shouted for us to place our hands on the seats in front of us, heads down… He slapped metal cuffs on my wrists and pushed me off the plane. The three of us, two Indian men living in the Detroit metro area, and me, a half-Arab, half-Jewish housewife living in suburban Ohio, were being detained.”
She claims that the officers holding her would not answer her questions and that she was placed in a 6’ by 10’ cell with a metal cot and a video camera above the open toilet.
According to the complaint, authorities ordered her to strip naked and squat and cough as an officer looked on. Investigators also searched her mouth, checked under her eyelids, and in her hair. All before interrogating her and the ultimately releasing her.
“I was frightened and humiliated, and my rights were clearly violated solely because of my ethnicity,” recalls the passenger in a statement released today. “As an American citizen and a mom, I’m really concerned about my children growing up in a country where your skin color and name can put your freedom and liberty at risk at any time. This kind of discrimination should not be tolerated.” Tweet this.
The ACLU of Michigan, which if filing the suit on behalf of the passenger, claims that public records show she was detained because of her proximity to the two men and because of her name.
A staff attorney for ACLU of Michigan calls the incident “not simply a mistake made by an airline employee or government agency, but a predictable consequence of institutionalizing racial stereotypes and mass suspicion as law enforcement tactics.”
The complaint — filed against Frontier, the TSA, Wayne County Airport Authority, Detroit Metro Airport Police, the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Patrol — alleges unreasonable search and seizure and discrimination prohibited by the federal civil rights laws.
Monica47, Jan 22, 2013
It's hard to believe that The Consumerist wasted a whole, lengthy column on the subject without even mentioning the woman's name, but the rag did just that. The woman is Shoshana Hebshi.
I've merged this with the original thread.
This is going to be a major, major lawsuit.
I hope she crucifies them. All of them. And I hope the judge is cut from the same cloth as the "no secret evidence" one we've heard about of late.
Everyone involved in the mistreatment of this innocent passenger needs to get raked over the coals and hung out to dry as an example to anyone else who would follow in their footsteps.
CelticWhisper, Jan 22, 2013
The individual government employees that conducted the arrest, confinement procedures, and interrogation should be named in the suit and held personally accountable. We cannot let indivual players get off with claims of following orders.
RB, Jan 22, 2013
ACLU is to be making a formal announcement of the lawsuit today ...
CBS Local Detroit: Woman Strip-Searched After 9/11 Flight To File Lawsuit
An Ohio woman who claims she was illegally arrested, detained and strip-searched at Detroit Metro Airport on the tenth anniversary of September 11 is ready to file a lawsuit. WWJ’s Rob Sanford reports the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan will be announcing Tuesday that a lawsuit will be filed on behalf of Shoshana Hebshi, a woman of Arab and Jewish decent.​
Not a legal minded person but to be arrested don't charges have to be filed stating what violation of the law you are accused of violating?
Ohio Woman Sues Over Unlawful Arrest Resulting From Racial Profiling ​
Mother of Two Was Handcuffed, Detained And Strip-Searched After A Flight Because Of Her Ethnicity​
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org​
When you're strip-searched and locked in a jail cell, you've been arrested.
I agree she was arrested but on what grounds?
ACLU "home page" for the Shoshana Hebshi case:
Hebshi v. United States ​
Hebshi v. United States​
Shoshana Hebshi, an Ohio mother of two, is challenging Frontier Airlines, Detroit Metro Airport officials and federal authorities for her unlawful arrest, detention and strip-search. Hebshi was racially profiled and targeted because of her ethnicity.
She was born and raised in California. Her mother is Jewish and her late father emigrated from Saudi Arabia to the United States. On Sept. 11, 2011, Hebshi was forcibly removed from an airplane in handcuffs, strip searched, and held for four hours in a small cell even though she had done nothing suspicious.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Michigan, the Detroit law firm of Goodman & Hurwitz, and the Washington, DC office of the law firm of Covington & Burling.
I'm so glad she's suing. Last I read she wasn't going to.
phoebepontiac, Jan 22, 2013
We taxpayers are going to be paying out another major award because of DHS idiocy.
thanks for updating the thread, Mike. I'm glad ACLU finally convinced Hebshi to sue. It's a shame only money will be involved, and not a deep dark hole for the perps to live in for a few years. Pray for a huge, huge, judgement in this case. Something to back off these *ssholes for years.
nachtnebel, Jan 22, 2013
They are. I'll have the whole complaint up in a few minutes, but here is the list of respondents (items in brackets [] indicate my assumptions as to how they're ordered):
FRONTIER AIRLINES, INC.;
[Federal Bureau of Investigation / FBI]
JOHN BRAND, in his individual capacity;
UNKNOWN FBI AGENT 1, in his individual capacity;
UNKNOWN FBI AGENT 2, in his individual capacity;
[Local law enforcement & jail personnel]
JOHN ETLING, in his individual capacity;
MARK DEBEAU, in his individual capacity;
JEREMY BOHN, in his individual capacity;
CAPTAIN PATRICK DRISCOLL, in his individual capacity;
OFFICER GRANT, in his individual capacity;
LT. M. WASIUKANIS, in his individual capacity;
TOYA PARKER, in her individual capacity;
DT. CARMONA, in his or her individual capacity;
OFFICER JOHNSON, in his or her individual capacity;
CORPORAL BRADLEY, in his or her individual capacity;
[Customs & Border Protection / CBP]
UNKNOWN CBP OFFICER, in his individual capacity;
[Thieves Stealing America / TSA]
THOMAS PIPIS, in his individual capacity;
DAVID LAKATOS, in his individual capacity;
NATHANIEL DEVINS, in his individual capacity;
UNKNOWN TSA AGENT 1, in his individual capacity;
UNKNOWN TSA AGENT 2, in her individual capacity;
[Immigration & Customs Enforcement / ICE]
ROBERT BALL, in his individual capacity;
UNKNOWN ICE OFFICER, in his individual capacity;
PAUL BRUMLEY, in his individual capacity,
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT​
1. On September 11, 2011, Plaintiff Shoshana Hebshi flew on Frontier Airlines
flight 623 from San Francisco, California, to Detroit, Michigan. Upon landing, heavily armed
agents forcibly removed Ms. Hebshi from the airplane; handcuffed, pat searched, and strip
searched her; and locked her in a cell at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport before
interrogating her. Ms. Hebshi was detained for approximately four hours before being released
2. An American citizen born in California, Ms. Hebshi was arrested and detained
because of her ethnicity and her seat assignment: she has an Arab last name and was seated next to two men of South Asian origin, who each allegedly used the lavatory for ten to twenty minutes during the flight. Ms. Hebshi did not know these men, nor did she speak with them or leave her seat at any time before landing in Detroit.
3. Although Frontier Airlines never suggested that Ms. Hebshi had engaged in any
suspicious behavior, Frontier Airlines staff provided her name to federal and state authorities
when reporting the allegedly suspicious conduct of the men seated next to her on the plane.
4. Based solely on the information received from Frontier Airlines staff, agents of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), the Transportation Security Administration
(“TSA”), Wayne County Airport Authority Police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(“ICE”), and Customs and Border Patrol (“CBP”), working together, arrested and detained Ms.
Hebshi for approximately four hours with no articulable facts connecting Ms. Hebshi to criminal activity or providing probable cause. The FBI has publically stated that Ms. Hebshi was not involved in any suspicious activity.
5. During her several hours in detention, Ms. Hebshi was subjected to an invasive
and humiliating strip search, which required her to strip naked, bend over, and cough.
6. Ms. Hebshi, by her attorneys, now challenges the discriminatory conduct of
Frontier Airlines, which identified her as a “suspicious” passenger based on her ethnicity, race or national origin, resulting in her arrest and detention, as a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981;
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and 49 U.S.C. § 40127(a).
7. Ms. Hebshi also brings this action to challenge the unlawful arrest, detention, and
strip search she endured at the hands of agents of Wayne County Airport Authority Police, the
FBI, the TSA, ICE, and CBP, who violated her right to be free from unreasonable searches and
seizures under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. In
arresting and detaining Ms. Hebshi because of her perceived ethnicity, race, or national origin,
agents of Wayne County Airport Authority Police, the FBI, the TSA, ICE, and CBP further
violated Ms. Hebshi’s right to equal protection of the laws under the Fifth and Fourteenth
8. In addition, Ms. Hebshi brings claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act against
the United States of America for false arrest and false imprisonment.
9. This civil rights action is brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981; Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d; 49 U.S.C. § 40127(a); the Fourth, Fifth, and
Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution; 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Bivens v. Six
Unknown Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971); and the Federal Tort
Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-2680. This Court has jurisdiction over Ms. Hebshi’s
claims as an action arising under federal law, 28 U.S.C. § 1331; as a suit to redress deprivations
of rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the United States Constitution and by federal
law, 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3), (4); and as an action against the United States, 28 U.S.C. § 1346.
10. On January 25, 2012, Ms. Hebshi submitted an administrative claim for damages
to the TSA, the FBI, CBP and ICE. In a letter dated July 23, 2012, the TSA replied for all named
agencies and denied the administrative tort claim. This Complaint is filed within six months of
that denial and is therefore timely under 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b).
11. Venue is proper in this Court under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2) because a substantial
part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claims occurred within this district. The events
complained of herein happened as Ms. Hebshi was flying to, arrested at, and detained at the
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, in Romulus, Michigan, within the Eastern District
Plaintiff​
12. Plaintiff Shoshana Hebshi is a U.S. citizen and a freelance journalist. Ms.
Hebshi’s first name is of Hebrew origin, as her mother is Jewish. Ms. Hebshi has the same last
name as her father, now deceased, who immigrated to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia. Ms. Hebshi
lives in Sylvania, Ohio, with her husband and two young sons. She was traveling home after
visiting her sister in California when she was arrested, detained, and strip searched at the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.
Defendant United States of America​
13. Defendant United States of America (“United States”) is the proper defendant for
Ms. Hebshi’s claims brought under the FTCA.
Defendant Frontier Airlines, Inc.​
14. Defendant Frontier Airlines, Inc. is incorporated and headquartered in Colorado
and operates throughout the United States, including in the State of Michigan. Employees of
Frontier Airlines, acting within the scope of their employment, identified Ms. Hebshi as a
suspect to state and federal law enforcement agencies based on her perceived ethnicity, race, or
national origin, resulting in her arrest and detention. Upon information and belief, Frontier
Airlines receives federal funding including, and not limited to, subsidies under the Essential Air
FBI Defendants​
15. Defendant John Brand was, at all times relevant to this action, a Special Agent
with the FBI. Defendant Brand participated in the decisions to arrest, detain, strip search, and
interrogate Ms. Hebshi with no articulable facts connecting Ms. Hebshi to criminal activity or
providing probable cause. He is sued in his individual capacity.
16. Defendant Unknown FBI Officer 1 was, at all times relevant in this action, an
agent of the FBI. At this time, his identity is not known to Ms. Hebshi. Upon information and
belief, Defendant Unknown FBI Officer 1 ordered FBI agents in Detroit to arrest, detain, and
17. Defendant Unknown FBI Officer 2 was, at all times relevant in this action, an
agent of the FBI. At this time, his identity is not known to Ms. Hebshi. Defendant Unknown
FBI Officer 2 participated in both the decision to arrest and detain Ms. Hebshi, as well as the
actual arrest and detention, with no articulable facts connecting Ms. Hebshi to criminal activity
or providing probable cause. He is sued in his individual capacity.
18. Defendant John Etling was, at all times relevant in this action, an agent with the
Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multi-agency law enforcement unit under the direction of the FBI. At this time, his identity is not known to Ms. Hebshi. Defendant Etling participated in both the decision to arrest and detain Ms. Hebshi and her actual arrest and detention, all without articulable facts connecting Ms. Hebshi to criminal activity or providing probable cause. He is sued in his individual capacity.
Wayne County Airport Authority Defendants​
19. Defendant Mark DeBeau was, at all times relevant to this action, Vice President
of Public Safety at Wayne County Airport Authority. Defendant DeBeau participated in the
decision to arrest Ms. Hebshi with no articulable facts connecting Ms. Hebshi to criminal activity or providing probable cause. He is sued in his individual capacity.
20. Defendant Jeremy Bohn was, at all times relevant to this action, employed by the
Wayne County Airport Authority Police. Defendant Bohn was the Officer-in-Charge for the
Wayne County Airport Authority Police during and the events described in this complaint. He
participated in Ms. Hebshi’s arrest and transportation to the detention site with no articulable
facts connecting her to criminal activity or providing probable cause. He is sued in his