Black Actress Daniele Watts Handcuffed, Detained in Studio City for Kissing her Husband in Public

For the “why relations between the American people and their law
officers can be strained” department, even in the hallowed halls of
Tinseltown (adjacent) and involving stars of the silver screen,
such as Daniele Watts of Django Unchained and the TV show
Partners fame, cops are still officious asses, as
reported by
Mic.com:

African-American actress Danièle Watts claims she was
“handcuffed and detained” by police officers from the Studio
City Police Department in Los Angeles on Thursday after allegedly
being mistaken for a prostitute.

According to accounts by Watts and her husband Brian James
Lucas, two police officers mistook the couple for a prostitute and
client when they were seen showing affection in public. Watts
refused to show her ID to the cops when questioned and was
subsequently handcuffed and placed in the back of their car while
police attempted to ascertain her identity. The two officers
released Watts shortly afterwards.

The Mic story also contains Ms. Watts full, and quite
emotional, account from her Facebook page, including:

When the officer arrived, I was standing on the sidewalk by a
tree. I was talking to my father on my cell phone. I knew that I
had done nothing wrong, that I wasn’t harming anyone, so I walked
away.

A few minutes later, I was still talking to my dad when 2
different police officers accosted me and forced me into
handcuffs.

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. 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!!!!!!!

I was sitting in that back of this cop car, filled with
adrenaline, my wrist bleeding in pain, and it occurred to me, that
even there, I STILL HAD POWER OVER MY OWN SPIRIT.

Those cops could not stop me from expressing myself. They could
not stop the cathartic tears and rage from flowing out of me. They
could not force me to feel bad about myself. Yes, they had control
over my physical body, but not my emotions. My feelings. My spirit
was, and still is FREE.

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. I KNOW THAT I WILL ALWAYS BE FREE
BECAUSE THAT IS THE NATURE OF MY SPIRIT.