Equal Protection of the laws

Young, Black College Student Wrongly Arrested for
Felony Vehicle Theft of His Own Vehicle

In September 2023, Abdullah Wright was not far from the home he shared with his parents and younger brothers when he was placed in handcuffs for lawfully driving his own vehicle on the streets of San Diego one Sunday afternoon.

At the time, Abdullah was 18-years-old, a sophomore at San Diego State University (SDSU), majoring in business, and working while going to school. He was out on a Sunday afternoon with his younger brothers, then-aged 13 and 16. They are all avid athletes, and often spend time together working out. On this particular weekend afternoon, they went to a hill near their home—where they often go—to do wind sprints. When Abdullah stopped at a four-way intersection about a mile from his home that Sunday afternoon, he observed a marked San Diego Police Department (SDPD) patrol vehicle approaching from the opposite direction. Both vehicles stopped at their respective stop signs and then proceeded through the intersection in opposite directions. Abdullah parked his vehicle in the usual location (because it was the top of the hill) and exited with his younger brothers to begin the walk downhill where they would start their wind sprints.

Shortly after driving through the intersection and passing Abdullah and his brothers, the SDPD patrol vehicle flipped a U-turn and drove past the boys again, this time to observe them while going downhill. Abdullah noticed the officer as he drove past for the second time. Abdullah’s shoelaces needed to be tied so he told his brothers to keep walking downhill and he would catch up with them. The SDPD patrol vehicle flipped another U-turn after driving downhill to observe the boys for a third time. On the third pass, the SDPD patrol vehicle stopped the 13- and 16-year-olds under the ruse of asking for directions. Then, after speaking with the younger brothers, the SDPD patrol vehicle drove up the hill and flipped another U-turn. Driving downhill yet again on his fourth approach of the boys, the SDPD patrol vehicle pulled up behind Abdullah and turned on its emergency lights.

The patrol officer exited his SDPD vehicle and ordered Abdullah to come to him in the street. Abdullah stopped walking and immediately complied. The officer asked Abdullah if the vehicle he had been driving was his. Abdullah responded truthfully that yes, it was his vehicle, and that it was registered in his father’s name. The officer then informed Abdullah that he was detaining him, handcuffed him immediately behind his back, and had him stand handcuffed in the street next to the marked patrol vehicle. The officer then called for backup and two more uniformed officers in another marked vehicle with emergency lights on responded to the scene. Abdullah’s brothers saw him being handcuffed and came back to his location, worried about what was happening. Abdullah, concerned about their safety, tried to keep them calm, and instructed the 16-year-old to call their father, Prof. James Wright.

Prof. Wright was working that afternoon in a coffee shop nearby and answered the call right away. Prof. Wright spoke directly with the officer on the phone, informing him that—yes—it was his vehicle his son was driving. The officer informed Prof. Wright that he had suspected Abdullah of an “unreported” vehicle theft. Meaning, it seems, that no one at all had reported a vehicle stolen but apparently there was “something” about Abdullah and his younger brothers that caused the officer to believe that they were riding in an “unreported” stolen vehicle. After gathering Abdullah’s personal information for an arrest report, the officer allowed him to leave the scene.

SDPD created an “arrest report” logging this arrest of Abdullah. They indicated on the “arrest report” that he was “arrested for” a felony vehicle theft: “10851 (A) – VC – TAKE VEHICLE W/O OWNER’S CONSENT VEHICLE THEFT (F).” The month following this incident, in October 2023, Abdullah requested that SDPD seal and destroy the records of his felony arrest pursuant to Cal. Penal Code § 851.8(a) given that no crime had been committed. But San Diego Police Department’s records unit rejected Abdullah’s request for sealing and destruction of the record of his felony arrest saying that they were unable to grant his request because he was never booked into custody but was released on the scene.

Unfortunately, it is a fact that in the City of San Diego, Black individuals are disproportionately stopped by law enforcement—4.2x more frequently that White individuals when controlling for crime rates, poverty rates, and neighborhood demographics. Center for Policing Equity, SD City CPE 2021 (June 15, 2021). For the period July 2018 through June 2019, “San Diego Police stopped black people . . . at the highest rates per population. . . . Black people were stopped at the highest rates of any other group – a rate 219% higher per population than white people.” Samuel Sinyangwe, Police Scorecard: Evaluating Policing in San Diego, at 4. During that same time, “San Diego police made 35,038 stops of black people during a 12 month period in a city with a total of 88,774 black residents – an extreme level of policing impacting black San Diego residents.” Id. at 5.

Abdullah is concerned, quite rightly, that given the fact that Black individuals in San Diego are disproportionately stopped by law enforcement even when controlling for crime rates, poverty rates, and neighborhood demographics—and given his own experience for being arrested while simply exercising—he may be wrongfully stopped again in the future. He reasonably fears that this felony arrest will be visible to San Diego law enforcement and unnecessarily put him at increased risk for a dangerous encounter with police.

It is a violation of the Fourth Amendment for individuals to be subjected to unlawful stops and seizures. Additionally, it is a violation of the Equal Protection clause (14th Amendment) of the U.S. Constitution for an officer to use an individual’s race as a factor in making a determination that there is something suspicious about that individual such that an arrest is warranted. The U.S. Constitution prohibits selective enforcement of laws based on race.

Thankfully, Abdullah was not physically injured in his encounter with the SDPD patrol officer. He did, on that September 2023 afternoon, what he has been trained to do by his parents as a young Black man who encounters law enforcement: he was respectful, tried to stay calm, and he followed directions. But he believed—and continues to believe—that he was considered “suspicious” and was arrested that day not for any reasonable, objective measure but instead, unconstitutionally, because of the color of his skin. Mr. Wright seeks to be provided the rights and privileges of full membership as a resident in San Diego—he endeavors to live a life free of unlawful seizures and disparate treatment in the neighborhood where he lives. He works hard and he follows the law, and he expects law enforcement to do the same.

Young, Black College Student Wrongly Arrested for Felony Vehicle Theft of His Own Vehicle

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Young, Black College Student Wrongly Arrested for
Felony Vehicle Theft of His Own Vehicle