A Bakersfield man and the ACLU have filed a discrimination lawsuit against the city, two Bakersfield Police officers and a sergeant.
Robert Mitchell claimed last year his civil rights were violated when he was arrested without a cause.
Mitchell filed the lawsuit on Friday, naming officer Ronnie Jeffries and John Bishop along with a department sergeant. He said that in March 2017 he was a passenger in a car that was stopped because he and his fellow passengers were all black.
Mitchell said he was arrested after refusing to provide his name to officers and exercising his rights under the first and fourth amendments.
The lawsuit says Mitchell was jailed for 12 hours and no charges were filed.
City officials said they have not been served yet and couldn't comment on the matter.
BPD did not respond for comment.
