LOS ANGELES — Police said Monday they followed proper protocol when they demanded identification from an actress and her boyfriend while investigating a 911 call alleging lewd conduct in a parked car.

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 in Studio City.

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.

She and Lucas wrote about the incident on Facebook and posted photos of a crying Watts in handcuffs. Lucas said he suspects that onlookers assumed Watts to be a prostitute and him a client because she is black and he is white.

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. 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.

Watts said the officer “was not abusive. He was not overtly racist,” but his demeanor was an emotional trigger for her because of personal and historical experiences of racial profiling by police.

“If I’m going to be in the public eye, I’m going to stand up for what I believe in, and I don’t believe I committed any crime where I deserved to be in handcuffs,” she said.

– From news service reports


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