Ralphs, named in a civil rights lawsuit sued along with Los Angeles County filed by retired Los Angeles Rams wide receiver DeSean Jackson, is denying liability in the complaint in which the former NFL star alleges he was wrongfully arrested by a deputy sheriff at a Ralphs store in Marina del Rey in connection with a car theft.
Jackson contends the grocery store chain has a history of racially profiling Black men who shop in their stores. In court papers filed Thursday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rupert Byrdsong, the grocer, identifying itself as the Alpha Beta Co. that does business by the name Ralphs, denied “each and every allegation” in Jackson’s complaint, and said that judgment should be entered in the company’s favor.
In the alternative, the Ralphs attorneys say that the grocer should not have to pay any disproportionate share of damages Jackson may obtain. The Ralphs lawyers cite multiple defenses, including assumption of the risk and that Jackson’s claims are barred wholly or in part by the statute of limitations.
In previous court papers, county attorneys also denied Jackson’s allegations and cited several defenses, including that deputies “acted objectively and reasonably under the circumstances, and used reasonable force in self-defense, defense of others, to prevent escape, or to overcome resistance.”
The county attorneys further contend that the county is immune from liability and that Jackson “interfered with the lawful orders of law enforcement officials, and purposefully resisted the detention, arrest and/or investigatory orders.”
In his suit brought last Aug. 9, Jackson, now 38, says he went to the Ralphs store on Lincoln Boulevard on June 25, 2023, at about 6:30 p.m. and was grocery shopping when he was arrested by a deputy, who told the plaintiff his detention was “connected with a guy stealing from the store.”
Jackson was handcuffed and not read his rights before being placed in a patrol car in pain and later taken to a sheriff’s station and kept there for several hours, the suit states.
A Ralphs security guard knew the deputy was arresting the wrong person because the guard had a photo of the actual car theft suspect — whose only similarity to Jackson was that he also was Black — yet the guard did not intervene with the plaintiff being taken into custody, the suit states.
Jackson believes that due to “implicit bias,” the deputy and Ralphs “assumed Mr. Jackson presented a serious threat to someone’s safety, and then falsely accused him of being a criminal,” according to the suit, which further states that Jackson has sought treatment from medical doctors as well as from psychologists for his emotional distress.
Jackson was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft following a college career at California and also played for the Rams, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Las Vegas Raiders and Baltimore Ravens during a 15-season NFL career that ended in 2022.
The former Long Beach Poly High standout was selected to the Pro Bowl three times and was the first player selected for the game at two positions when he was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl as a wide receiver and return specialist. In 2024, Jackson was named head football coach at Delaware State University.