When officers found Allen unconscious in his car, they pulled him out, attempted to handcuff him and forced him to the ground, the complaint alleged. As officers held Allen to the ground, one of them struck Allen twice in the knee with a baton, according to the complaint, which was first reported by the Sacramento Bee.

Allen, 29, told The Washington Post that the injury was an obstacle to his ambitions to move abroad and continue his professional basketball career in Europe or New Zealand.

“I’ve never had a knee injury in 20 years of playing basketball,” Allen said. “I’ve been held down by the police for less than two minutes and now my career is over. So it’s been really tough.”

Elk Grove police declined to comment on the pending lawsuit. The city of Elk Grove did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuit did not include all of the officers’ full names.

Allen, who played college basketball at San Diego State, played five seasons in the NBA’s developmental G League after graduating in 2017. He played for the G League Ignite, a team then based in Walnut Creek, California, from 2021 to 2022.

On the evening of Oct. 14, 2022, Allen was returning home from a wine tasting, he said. He pulled over and parked at a neighbor’s house when he “understood he wasn’t supposed to be driving” and fell asleep in his car, the lawsuit said. His neighbors thought he was a shooting victim and called police, the lawsuit said.

Officers who arrived on the scene found Allen unconscious and said he appeared intoxicated, according to body camera footage of the incident. The officers pulled Allen out of the car, pinned him against the vehicle and attempted to handcuff him, video footage shows. Allen can be heard telling officers to “relax” as the officers tell Allen to stop tensing and resisting. The officers then forced Allen to the ground, according to the video, which is muted as Allen is lowered.

One of the officers who forced Allen to the ground tripped over Allen’s legs and fell with him, the complaint states. Video footage shows the officer striking Allen twice in the legs with a baton while Allen is being held down by other officers.

The officers held Allen on the ground for several more minutes and then placed him in a full-body restraint that immobilized his arms and legs, video footage shows. The restraint caused more pain to Allen’s knee, the complaint said. The officers took Allen to a Sacramento hospital and then to jail, the complaint said.

Video footage shows the officers discussing the arrest after Allen is taken into custody. The officers, who repeatedly comment on Allen’s size and height, accuse Allen of tensing up and resisting during the incident. The officer who struck Allen can be heard telling a colleague, “Okay, the baton’s coming, fuck off,” as he describes the arrest.

The officers said they were not injured during the arrest.

John Burris, Allen’s attorney, said the officers “overreacted and became overly aggressive when there was no need to be.”

“(Allen) did not harm anyone in any way,” Burris said.

Allen said he was charged with driving under the influence and his license was reinstated after he completed a three-month training program.

The fractures in his right knee prevented Allen, once an agile defender, from moving laterally on the court without pain, he said. Allen, who said he previously signed six-figure contracts in the NBA G League, did not sign with another NBA G League team in 2022 and dropped plans to contact international teams. He has not played professional basketball since.

“It’s unfair,” Allen said. “I can’t find the words to describe the pain.”