The “Django” actress complains she was unlawfully detained and brutalized because she was kissing her white boyfriend

Sep 15, 2014 08:42 GMT  ·  By

There has been quite a commotion caused by two Los Angeles police officers who are being accused of unlawfully detaining and brutalizing African-American actress Daniele Watts, whom they handcuffed and questioned last week after she kissed her boyfriend in public.

In a video released on social media, the actress known for her role in the movie “Django” can be seen handcuffed, in a T-shirt and gym shorts, talking to officers and complaining “you guys came and grabbed me … for no reason.”

Danielle Watts was handcuffed and detained for “indecent behavior”

The police report shows that the two officers responded to a 911 complaint that a couple was engaged in indecent exposure inside a Mercedes-Benz. In their version of the story, the officers confirmed that they went down to Ventura Boulevard in Studio City where they “located two individuals that matched the description of the suspects and they were briefly detained.”

They later added that “upon further investigation it was determined that no crime had been committed. Mrs. Watts and her companion were subsequently released.”

Watts confirms she refused to identify herself because she knew she had done nothing wrong

This is not the same story Watts and her boyfriend are telling though. They took to social media to complain about the incident and claimed that Watts was detained illegally and brutalized. They accompanied the report with a photo of a cut she had sustained on her wrist after the cuffs were slapped on her.

They say that they were simply showing affection to one another, “fully clothed, in a public place.” Watts claims that by the time police arrived, she was talking on the phone with her father. “I knew that I had done nothing wrong, that I wasn't harming anyone, so I walked away.” This is when she was put in handcuffs.

The LAPD is now investigating the matter seriously, but defends the actions of the officers

LAPD Captain Stephen Carmona told the Los Angeles Times that “because of the allegations that were raised … we're going to look into it.... We take all of these things really seriously, and we're going to ask the hard questions.”

Be that as it may, he also jumped to the defense of his officers, claiming that they were only doing their duties in the case, “That's just basic policework. It could be a vandalism suspect in an alley. The vandalism may be done, but they're still going to investigate the incident.”

The incident has sparked serious outrage on social media, and most people tend to believe that the incident only occurred because Watts and her boyfriend were of different races, with some hinting that the police reacted in the way they did because they thought Watts was engaged in prostitution.