Iron Man actor says he was ‘tortured’ and ‘abused’ after airport arrest in disturbing new lawsuit

Comedian and actor Ahmed Ahmed, who starred in the first Iron Man movie, has filed a lawsuit alleging he was “tortured”, physically assaulted, and falsely imprisoned following an arrest at San Francisco International Airport.

The lawsuit, filed in California on Monday, June 15th and seen by Film Shrine, names the County of San Mateo, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, former sheriff Christina Corpus, and a number of unnamed defendants. 

Ahmed is seeking damages over allegations including assault, battery, false imprisonment, sexual battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

According to the complaint, the incident began on September 27th last year, after Ahmed returned to the US from Thailand on a delayed United Airlines flight. 

The delay reportedly caused him to miss a connecting flight, and “tensions rose as passengers were trying to figure out what to do.”

Ahmed alleges he was sent to a hotel that ultimately had no room available, forcing him to return to the airport in the early hours of the morning to seek further assistance. 

But when he was able to see a United Airline agent, they were said to be “dismissive”. He demanded help, at which point the airport police were called and he was accused of being disorderly. 

The lawsuit claims officers did not investigate the situation before taking him into custody. The most serious allegations relate to what Ahmed claims happened after he was transported to the San Mateo County Maguire Correctional Facility.

In court documents, Ahmed alleges that between seven and nine sheriff’s deputies immediately surrounded him while he was handcuffed and proceeded to assault him. 

The complaint claims he was punched in the head, ribs, and jaw, suffered multiple broken bones, and was subjected to an attempted sexual assault by officers “touching him and trying to pull down his pants while laughing and high-fiving each other.”

Ahmed further alleges that deputies placed a bag over his head, strapped his shoulders, legs and ankles to a restraint chair, and left him isolated for hours.

The lawsuit states that he “genuinely believed that he was going to be killed” and later feared deputies would “beat him to death or shoot him in the head.”

According to the complaint, Ahmed was denied water, prevented from contacting a lawyer or family member, and held for approximately 21 hours before ultimately being released without charges.

The filing claims that subsequent medical examinations documented injuries including a broken rib, broken wrist, broken elbow, neck and head injuries, and PTSD. 

Ahmed says his whole life has been affected by this incident, including fears about returning to his work as a stand-up comedian and actor. The complaint is seeking a trial by jury and the case is ongoing. 

Film Shrine has reached out to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department for comment.

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Featured image credit: Amanda Schwab/Starpix/Shutterstock/Marvel