City Worker Claims Brutality by LAPD : Police: He seeks $50 million, saying his leg and knee were shattered by officers without provocation.

A city garbage truck driver Monday filed a $50-million claim against the city of Los Angeles, alleging that five police officers knocked him to the ground, shattering his right kneecap and leg when he questioned why they had stopped him outside a Pacoima burrito stand.

The alleged beating of the off-duty driver, Vernell Ramsey Jr. of Pacoima, took place in the Foothill Division, the same San Fernando Valley patrol area where Altadena motorist Rodney G. King was stopped and clubbed by officers after a car chase March 3.

Like King, the 41-year-old Ramsey is black. He said he believes his race played a role in his arrest Aug. 16. “I feel that in my heart,” said Ramsey, who on Monday was in fair condition at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Panorama City.

“They had no reason to do that,” he said. “And I wasn’t under the influence of anything, so I know they couldn’t feel like their lives were threatened.”

Capt. Tim McBride, Foothill’s commanding officer, declined to discuss details of the incident but said it was under investigation by a supervisor at the division. The officers involved remain on duty, he said.

“I’m disturbed by any allegation of misconduct by officers that work at Foothill, and we’ll investigate and determine whether the officers’ actions were appropriate or not and take appropriate action,” McBride said.

McBride declined to identify the officers but said they were helping narcotics officers conduct a “sting-like operation” when Ramsey was stopped about 11:30 p.m. as he left a food stand at the corner of Van Nuys Boulevard and Tamarack Avenue.

Ramsey was taken into custody on suspicion of possessing cocaine, McBride said. No charges were filed. McBride said that he expected a charge to be filed.

Ramsey’s attorney, William A. Lorden, said he doubted that drug charges could be sustained against his client because “no narcotics were found.” Ramsey said his only other brushes with the law were two arrests for drunk driving.

In describing his arrest, Ramsey said he was driving away from El Indio, a burrito stand on Van Nuys Boulevard, with his uncle when police surrounded the car and jumped out of their squad cars with handguns drawn.

Ramsey said he got out of his uncle’s car and put up his hands as ordered, but asked officers several times why he had been stopped.

He said the third time he questioned them, he was forced to the pavement and his leg cracked audibly under the weight of five officers on him. He said one officer kicked the leg and another struck him on the arm with a baton.

The city has 45 days to review Ramsey’s claim and decide whether to settle out of court. If the city rejects Ramsey’s claim, he can file a lawsuit.