Actress Refuses To Apologize To LAPD Over Racial-Profiling Accusation
STUDIO CITY (CBSLA.com) — Actress Danielle Watts, who was handcuffed Sept. 11 by an LAPD sergeant, says she refuses to apologize for accusing the department of racial profiling, against the demands of civil-rights leaders.
LAPD Sgt. Jim Parker handcuffed the "Django Unchained" actress when she walked away and refused to provide identification after he and other officers responded to calls of a couple having sex in a car.
Watts accused Parker of racial profiling, leading to the LAPD launching an investigative probe into Parker and two other officers.
On Tuesday night, Parker spoke with CBS2 and called the department out on the investigation, which he called "ridiculous."
On Wednesday, Watts addressed Parker's comments in a revealing interview.
Watts claims that she has been harassed by police as many as four times over the past several months, including the Sept. 11 incident, saying that she is a victim of repeated racial profiling.
"If I have a voice, I'm going to use it to raise provocative discussions, so that we can all grow through them," Watts said in a radio interview with KTFK.
Parker said race had nothing to do with the detainment, that her race "never crossed my mind" and that it was "not relevant to the call."
Parker has retained an attorney through his police union since his department is conducting an internal investigation into Watts' claims, even though she has not filed a formal complaint with the LAPD.
Watts told the media that the police had treated her like a prostitute because she is black and her boyfriend is white.
However, Parker, who had recorded the incident, says that "Never, ever in anything I had written said that she was mistaken as a prostitute."
The LAPD declined to comment on the internal investigation, other than to say that the department is mandated to take complaints from anyone, including an "extremely agitated subject."
Though Watts was denounced by civil-rights leaders, she maintains she was profiled.
"If I bring up race, and I ask the officer 'Do you know how many times that I've been (stopped) because I'm black and he's white?' and the sergeant says 'Why are you pulling the race card, I've never heard that?' that implies a defensiveness that implies a bias."
The Police Protection League also declined to comment on the investigation.
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