Isaac Austin, a former Utah Jazz player, has sued the Salt Lake Police Department, saying he and Melvin Brown, his personal chef, were pulled over and forced to the ground at gunpoint by 18 to 20 officers because they are black.
Austin filed the suit in U.S. District Court on Thursday.
"We have not been notified of any lawsuit, and so we would not have any comment," Salt Lake Police Capt. Scott Anderson said.
The lawsuit says that Austin and Brown's constitutional rights were violated by an unlawful search and seizure, excessive force and denial of equal protection under the law.
The suit says that on Sept. 24, 2000, the two men were driving home from a nightclub in Austin's vehicle when they noticed they were being followed by a police cruiser.
Austin was pulled over, forcibly yanked from the car at gunpoint and thrown to the ground, the suit said.
Austin and Brown maintain in the suit that they are law-abiding citizens with no criminal records, who gave police no reason to suspect any criminal wrongdoing. The two men are asking for unspecified damages.
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