Daniele Watts, the actress that played Coco in the film “Django Unchained” and Angela Mullin in “Weeds”, recently had the audacity to share a kiss with her white husband while walking in Studio City. Fortunately, instead of wasting their time on lesser issues such a investigating actual crimes, the ever-vigilante LAPD was on hand to put an end to such interracial shenanigans, detaining Daniele and her husband and accusing them of having a prostitute-client relationship.
How, in this day and age, can it really be so inconceivable that interracial relationships exist? Why is the LAPD’s immediate conclusion that a black woman showing affection towards a white man MUST be a prostitute? I pit the fact that racism is alive and well and will probably never end.
I am disappointed in the LAPD for jumping to stupid conclusions. The article does note that Watts refused to show ID, which lead to her being detained until the police could identify her, which was also stupid on her part (though her stupidity doesn’t justify the police’s).
According to the article the police are allowed to detain someone for a reasonable period to determine their identity.
However this argument is blown out of the water and vaporized by the fact that she should never have been stopped in the first place.
Exactly- there should be some reasonable, probable cause to require someone to identify themselves. This is not a country where people should be stopped on the streets and demanded their papers.
How can anyone deny that bias still exists in law enforcement. It’s willful ignorance at this point.
You are if the police suspect you of doing something illegal, which was unfortunately the case here. When is not showing your ID to the police ever a good idea?
Disgusting. Pure racism in this case. There’s absolutely no probable cause in this case, not by any stretch of the imagination.
As usual this is only noticed because a celebrity was involved. Otherwise it continues to happen and everyone will shrug and believe the police had some good reason to stop and detain someone.
Either citizens have rights or they don’t. If the police don’t follow the laws they are charged with enforcing, why should citizens view them as anything other than thugs?
Because nobody ever came out on top by arguing with the cops, even if the cops were wrong.
Because refusing to ID yourself to the police accomplishes nothing but wasting everyone’s time and making you miserable, because the police can easily identify you in other ways if you insist on being difficult.
I am absolutely not justifying the police’s actions here. They were in the wrong. I’m just saying Watts could have made it easier for herself.
The police always suspect everybody of doing something illegal. They just don’t know what yet. Give 'em a few minutes and they’ll find what it is, even if it has to be “bleeding on an agent’s uniform”.
'Course in that specific case there were aggravating factors to the crime, such as repeatedly being a negro with intent.
How was she wrong here? Should she should never go out in public because that would make it easier for her too?
Those are lame excuses. Only the cops were wrong here. She’s entitled to live without being stopped by the police if she hasn’t provided the police cause to stop her, and she didn’t.
The only thing I can say is that for an actress, she looks like she just rolled out of bed and is dressed poorly. But, but, but…none of that is illegal or should raise an articulable suspicion on the part of any police officer.
Further, Terry allows a pat down of outer clothing to check for weapons…where in the fuck are handcuffs allowed?
I applaud her for not making it easy. They shouldn’t be stopping people for no reason. They should be called out on it. Let it come to light, rather than she acquiescing to make things easier.
I’m simply saying she didn’t make things any better by refusing to identify herself. Are we so onboard the “cops = EVIL” train that we can’t acknowledge that refusing to identify yourself to a police officer who’s already assuming the worst of you is a bad idea?
The main reason why we have stupid, unethical police officers is because entirely way too many people try to make it easier for them to be stupid and unethical.
If more citizens were emboldened enough to tell those fuckers “NO!” when its in their rights to do so (and they are fortunate enough to record the ordeal), then maybe we’d stop hearing so many stories about stupid, unethical law enforcement.
