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Judge alleges racial profiling, excessive force in $10M claim against UCLA police
In this file photo, David Cunningham, left, then-president of the Board of Police Commissioners, and Alan Skobin, vice president of the board, speak during a meeting of the Board of Police Commissioners Tuesday, July 13, 2004, in Los Angeles. Cunningham has filed a $10 million claim against UCLA police alleging that officers racially profiled him and used excessive force in a traffic stop that began over not wearing his seat belt.
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A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has filed a $10 million claim against two UCLA police officers.
Judge David Cunningham claims the officers racially profiled him and used excessive force when they stopped him for not wearing a seat belt.
The incident happened last November as Cunningham left a gym in Westwood. Cunningham's lawyer, Carl Douglas, says his client also wants the two officers to be fired.
"We think that they should not continue having the privilege of representing campus police, particularly when they are on so diverse a campus as the University of California at Los Angeles," Douglas told KPCC.
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Cunningham is African American and claims the officers shoved him against a patrol car and were rough when they handcuffed him.
UCLA says its police department fully investigated the incident, and found no evidence to sustain Cunningham's allegations. The university would not provide further comment on the claim, which is a precursor to a lawsuit.
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