Actress detained by police in LA refuses to apologize despite calls from civil rights leaders
An actress who was detained by Los Angeles last week is refusing to apologize for claiming race played a role in the incident.
Civil Rights leaders called for “Django” actress Daniele Watts’ apology after she suggested she was handcuffed for kissing her white husband in public.
Images captured by witnesses who called police of the two in the vehicle suggest they were committing acts a bit less innocent than a kiss.
Watts and boyfriend Brian Lucas were questioned last week by officers investigating a report of lewd conduct in a parked car. Watts, who is black, refused to provide identification. She was briefly handcuffed until police identified her.
The incident went viral after she and Lucas claimed on their Facebook pages that the detention reflected racial profiling.
Earl Ofari Hutchinson, who initially rallied behind the actress, said she “cried wolf” in this instance.
“I was one that was very outspoken about it,” he told reporters. “We take racial profiling very seriously. It’s not a play thing. It’s not trivial.”
While Watts did not mention race in her statement, she maintained her right to refuse to present police with identification. “It is a constitutional right that we do not have to present ID to any member of law enforcement unless we are being charged with a crime,” she said.
A spokesperson for the LAPD said the department has no response to Watts’ statement.
Watts will take no further action.
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