Daniele Watts: Django Unchained actress, who accused police in Los Angeles of racial profiling, is charged with lewd conduct
Watts alleged a LAPD officer was guilty of racial profiling in September
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Daniele Watts and her boyfriend have been charged with lewd conduct, following a highly-publicised incident in which she accused a Los Angeles police officer of racism.
The Django Unchained actress and boyfriend Brian James Lucas were detained on 11 September, after a complaint alleging that the pair had been having sex in a car outside CBS Studios.
Watts claimed that the incident was a result of racial profiling, a view shared by her partner who alleged that police had mistaken the actress for a prostitute and he a client.
She claims that she refused to produce her photo ID when asked by police, and was then handcuffed and held in a police car as the officers tried to work out who she was. She reportedly also alleged that she had cut her wrist as a result of being handled roughly by the LAPD officers.
“As I was sitting in the back of the police car, I remembered the countless times my father came home frustrated or humiliated by the cops when he had done nothing wrong,” she wrote on her Facebook post.
“I felt his shame, his anger, and my own feelings of frustration for existing in a world where I have allowed myself to believe that “authority figures” could control my BEING… my ability to BE!!!!!!!”
However, TMZ reports that since listening to the LAPD audio and various eyewitness accounts, as well as photographs of the pair in the car, that prosecutors have charged Watts and Lucas with lewd conduct.
The LAPD officer in question, Jim Parker, has consistently denied racial bias calling the allegations “malicious and false statements”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments