Daniele Watts, an African American actress known for Django Unchained, claimed that she was unjustly handcuffed and detained by police for making out with her white boyfriend in public.

“Today I was handcuffed and detained by 2 police officers from the Studio City Police Department after refusing to agree that I had done something wrong by showing affection, fully clothed, in a public place,” Watts wrote on her Facebook page.

Daniele Watts Refused To Show Identification

Watts later told BuzzFeed News that she had been making out with her boyfriend, Brian Lucas, in the front seat of his car, sitting on his lap fully clothed. According to Watts, a man came out of a nearby office and asked the interracial couple to “stop putting on a show,” and the two exited the vehicle. Watts then called her father, and was still on the phone when a police car pulled over in front of them and asked them for identification.

Audio obtained by TMZ contains policemen informing Watts that a witness had called to complain about “lewd acts” being performed in the car. Watts can be heard becoming increasingly upset, especially when the officer asks for her identification. Watts refused, saying, “You know how many times the cops have been called just for being black? I’m just being really honest.”

“Thank you for bringing up the race card, I never hear that,” one of the officers says later.

When the police insisted on seeing identification, Watts, again, refused. “I have every right to say no, and if you’d like to demand it, you can take me down to the court office and I can make a scene about it…If you’d like my ID you can say I am resisting arrest,” Watts says in the audio.

Watts Alleges Police Were Called Because Of Her Race

Based on the audio and Watts’ statements on the matter, it is clear that Watts believed she and her boyfriend were being targeted for being an interracial couple. In the audio, Watts is heard telling her father, “I can’t make out with my boyfriend in front of my f—king studio without the cops getting called!”

Watts’ continued refusal to show her ID led to her being handcuffed on the sidewalk. Watts was detained by the police and accused them of being “a little bit racist.” She continued to engage police in conversation until Lucas eventually turned over her ID to the police and they were given permission to leave. No charges were filed.

Watts Reportedly Plans To File Complaint

While the police make no mention of her race, nor does the audio prove they suspected Watts of being a prostitute, Watts and Lucas later said that the police clearly thought she was a prostitute engaging in public sex. “From the questions that he [the police] asked me as D was already on the phone with her dad, I could tell that whoever called on us (including the officers), saw a tatted RAWKer white boy and a hot bootie shorted black girl and thought we were a HO (prostitute) & a TRICK (client),” Lucas wrote on Instagram.

However, Watts says that, while she believes race played a part in the events leading up to her on-scene detainment, her anger and outrage was more about power. “It wasn’t a black white thing, it was more about something like a hypocrisy. And I think these kinds of discussions can help us,” she explained.

In her original statement on her detainment, Watts admitted to being enraged and emotional during the ordeal, and echoed statements heard in the audio, making clear she doubts the authority and intentions of the police. “I will continue to look any ‘authority figure’ in the eye without fear. NO POLICE OFFICER OR GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL IS MORE POWERFUL THAN ME. WE ARE EQUALS,” Watts wrote on Facebook.

Watts is reportedly planning to file a complaint with the LAPD.

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.