Police said they followed proper protocol when they demanded identification from an actress and her boyfriend while investigating a 911 call on Monday alleging lewd conduct in a parked car, according to Reuters.
Actress Daniele Watts, who appeared in "Django Unchained," says she was unjustly handcuffed and detained Thursday after refusing to provide identification and walking away from officers responding to a report of lewd conduct in a car along Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, Reuters reported.
Watts said in an interview Monday that she and her boyfriend, Brian Lucas, were kissing in the car and fully clothed, with nothing improper going on, according to Reuters.
She and Lucas wrote about the incident on Facebook and posted photos of a crying Watts in handcuffs, Reuters reported.
Lucas said he suspects that onlookers assumed Watts to be a prostitute and him a client because she is black and he is white, according to Reuters.
Los Angeles police Lt. Andrew Neiman said citizens are required to identify themselves if requested to do so by an officer who has reasonable suspicion to believe an offense may have been committed, Reuters reported.
In this case, he said, reasonable suspicion was created by the 911 call, and Watts and Lucas fit the description and location described by the caller, according to Reuters.
Celebrity website TMZ posted audio of the exchange between Watts and police where a police sergeant is heard telling Watts, "Somebody called, which gives me the right to be here, so it gives me the right to identify you by law," Reuters reported.
Neiman and Bill McCoy, a spokesman for the couple, say the audio is authentic, though its origin is unknown, according to Reuters. Watts can be heard responding in frustration and was detained until police determined no crime was committed.
The results of the LAPD's internal investigation of the matter, which could take several months are unlikely to be released, he said, Reuters reported.
Watts said the officer's demeanor was an emotional trigger for her because of personal and historical experiences of racial profiling by police, according to Reuters. "He was not abusive," Watts said, adding that "he was not overtly racist."
