(CN) - The bodyguard of renowned pro boxer Terence Crawford says in a Monday lawsuit that Omaha, Nebraska, police officers held Crawford, the bodyguard and two passengers at gunpoint for half an hour during a traffic stop, in violation of their constitutional rights.

The stop took place in September - less than 12 hours after nearly 65,000 Omaha residents had lined the streets for a victory parade honoring Crawford. The 38-year old undefeated boxer, who has held 18 major world championships across five different weight classes, was given the key to the city by the mayor. Police said Crawford, the driver, had been driving at twice the speed limit. 

According to Qasim Shabazz in his complaint filed in Nebraska federal court, when police pulled Crawford over at around 1:30 am, Shabazz immediately told them "in a calm, clear, and respectful tone that he had a firearm on his person," as required by law. Police then drew their guns, and pointed them at Crawford, Shabazz and the two passengers sitting in the back seat, who are also plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Shabazz says that one officer ordered him to hand over his firearm, but he refused - "stating words to the effect of, 'No, I'm not doing that. No, you ain't going to shoot me.'"

"Shabazz (aka Carl Thomas) reasonably feared that reaching for his firearm while Officer Valencia-Soethout had a weapon drawn and pointed at him would result in being shot," he says in the complaint.

All four remained handcuffed for about 30 minutes, the three plaintiffs say in the complaint.

"All plaintiffs experienced intense fear and terror, reasonably believing they could be shot and killed despite having committed no violent crimes," they say. "All plaintiffs suffered the profound humiliation and indignity of being handcuffed and treated as dangerous criminals in full public view while being filmed."

Though the three plaintiffs were released, Shabazz says his firearm was confiscated by police. Crawford, who is not a party in the lawsuit, was charged with careless driving. He has pleaded not guilty.

"This lawsuit is critically important because we're not just challenging excessive force - we're using the Equal Protection Clause to directly challenge racial discrimination in policing," said the plaintiffs' attorney Hakeem Muhammad of the Chicago-based Muhammad Law Center. "For far too long, African-Americans have had to live with the anxiety of driving in fear - fear of being pulled over, stopped by police and having their lives taken."

Shabazz and the other passengers charge the city of Omaha and 15 members of Omaha police department - including the two officers who pulled the plaintiffs over and the chief of police - with violating the Fourth Amendment, the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause, with using excessive force, among other claims.

The City of Omaha did not immediately respond to a phone call requesting a comment.

Though the complaint does not state a dollar amount the plaintiffs are seeking, it does ask for "compensatory damages ... for the physical, emotional, psychological, and dignitary injuries suffered as a direct and proximate result of Defendants' unconstitutional conduct, including expenses related to addressing said injuries such as counseling, therapy, and medical treatment."

The plaintiffs are also seeking punitive damages, as well as a declamatory judgment regarding "discriminatory traffic stops" and "the use of force against compliant, lawfully armed individuals."

The lawsuit comes a day after Forbes magazine published a glowing profile of Crawford, who has earned more than $100 million in the ring, with about half of that coming this year when he defeated Canelo Alvarez, bringing his record to 42 and 0 and becoming the undisputed super middleweight champion, though he was stripped of that title last week for a failure to pay fees to the World Boxing Council.

Source: Courthouse News Service