Cop harasses Uber driver living legally in CA due to immigrant status, suit says
Dash camera footage captured the moment a San Diego police officer harassed and degraded an Uber driver before taking his license in an illegal traffic stop motivated by racial animus, according to a federal lawsuit.
'Don't be an idiot and stop in the middle of the lane,' the officer first tells Abdulkadir Bulgaz, according to a video from Bulgaz's dash camera that his attorney shared with McClatchy News. 'Pull to the right.'
After publicly broadcasting the message from his police cruiser, the officer went to Bulgaz's driver-side window and began shouting at him, as detailed in a civil rights complaint filed May 15 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
The officer then used a slur for those with an intellectual disability.
'Are you --------?' the officer is heard asking Bulgaz in the video, which captures Bulgaz replying by asking 'sorry?'
'Are you stupid? Are you stupid?' the officer questions Bulgaz, who says 'sorry' again.
'Are you dumb?' the officer then asks.
Bulgaz, a Turkish immigrant living and working legally in San Diego, tried to tell the officer he speaks Turkish, not English, according to the complaint.
The officer is heard interrupting Bulgaz and continuing to question him, asking 'Why the (expletive) would you stop in the middle of the lane?'
The officer then repeatedly tells Bulgaz to 'move,' and demands his license, according to the footage.
'Are you an Uber driver?...You're a terrible driver,' the officer is heard saying, before telling Bulgaz that 'you're not driving any more. I'm taking your license from you.'
Using a language translation app on his phone, the officer also called Bulgaz an '(expletive) Turkish driver' and threatened his job with Uber, according to the lawsuit.
He then physically took Bulgaz's license, forcing him to 'drive home without it' and to miss out on more than a week's worth of income, the complaint says.
For over 10 days, Bulgaz could not drive for Uber, Lyft and other delivery services — all jobs that provided his main source of income — until he received his license from the DMV, his attorney, Antonio K. Kizzie, wrote in the filing.
Bulgaz is suing the city of San Diego, the officer who pulled him over and other employees with the city's police department on 12 causes of action, including constitutional rights violations.
The officer and other employees, referred to as 'DOE Defendants,' will be named once their identities are known, according to the lawsuit, which was first reported by KGTV.
In response to McClatchy News' request for comment, San Diego Police Department Sgt. Ariel Savage said on June 12 that the agency 'does not comment on pending/active lawsuits against the department or its members' and did not comment further.
Savage referred McClatchy News to the city attorney's office, which also declined to comment on June 12 due to the pending litigation.
Discrimination against immigrants
The lawsuit argues Bulgaz was pulled over 'without reasonable suspicion,' 'racially profiled' and verbally attacked by the officer as part of a larger pattern of the San Diego Police Department discriminating against immigrants.
The department's policies and customs enable the discrimination, including the officer's 'racist' behavior against Bulgaz, according to the complaint, which notes the officer is white.
The officer who stopped Bulgaz and his fellow colleagues in law enforcement 'unreasonably and unlawfully seized, detained, and arrested (Bulgaz) and many others because of their immigrant status, age, race, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, and/or primary language,' the complaint says.
In an interview with KGTV, Kizzie said the Dec. 30 traffic stop was 'very traumatizing' for Bulgaz.
'The officer for no reason seized (Bulgaz's) driver's license for at worst, a potential minor traffic infraction, then threatened you'll never drive Uber again,' Kizzie told the TV station.
Based on a review of San Diego Police Department data on 666,406 traffic stops from 2019 to 2023, KNSD reported in June 2024 there was a disproportionate amount of Black and Hispanic drivers pulled over in the city compared to white drivers.
After Bulgaz was stopped, Kizzie told McClatchy News that, besides Bulgaz not having his license for more than a week, he has not faced repercussions.
'He was not even given a citation to appear in court for the infraction, which is highly unusual,' Kizzie said.
'This is a disturbing incident of a police officer using their badge to bully and intimidate rather than to protect and serve,' Kizzie added.
The civil case comes during ongoing nationwide immigration enforcement actions under President Donald Trump's administration.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem promised on June 12 that immigration actions will continue in the wake of raids that have prompted protests in several cities like Los Angeles, as well as legal challenges, The Associated Press reported.
Bulgaz's lawsuit accuses San Diego of an 'unlawful custom, policy, and/or practice of seizing immigrants and non-English speaking persons' driver's licenses and identifying documents without due process and relatively minor crimes due to their vulnerable status.'
He is seeking a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages, the filing shows.
Kizzie told McClatchy News that he hopes to see 'justice for Mr. Bulgaz and accountability for the officer involved.'
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