The 'Django Unchained' actress who complained she was the victim of racism following a stop by Los Angeles cops last month has been charged with misdemeanor lewd conduct.
Daniele Watts and her boyfriend Brian Lucas have been charged with one count each and are due for arraignment Nov. 13, a spokesman for the Los Angeles City Attorney told the Daily News Tuesday.
If convicted, they face a maximum of six months in jail and a fine of $1,000.
'We were sent a collection of evidence from law enforcement, and after review, our prosecutors felt filing was appropriate,' spokesman Frank Mateljan said.
The black actress and her white boyfriend were stopped by cops in Studio City on Sept. 11 after police were called to the scene by a witness who claimed the couple was having sex in public.
Watts refused to show her identification and was placed in handcuffs while three officers tried to identify her following the complaint.
Audio of the stop obtained by The News revealed Watts went berserk with accusations her rights were being violated, in part due to her race.
'The cop pulled us over because he thought I was a prostitute,' she said, referring to the first officer who responded to the scene.
Elsewhere in the recording, Watts can be heard crying as a male officer asks her to let him explain the reason for her detainment.
'I'm being very calm. I'm not being an a- to you,' the male Latino officer is heard saying.
'You're not the one who's in handcuffs,' Watts responded. 'You're not the one who's spent your life being called a N----- and growing up in the south, and now I get the cops called on me.'
In a Facebook post after the incident, Lucas said police acted as though he and Watts were engaged in prostitution because they are an interracial couple.
LAPD Sgt. Jim Parker, who was the first officer to make contact with Watts, previously told The News he never suspected Watts was a prostitute and would have ended the stop in less than five minutes - without calling the other two officers for help - had Watts cooperated and shown her ID.
He said he found it ironic that Watts accused the trio of discrimination because he is gay while the two others were a woman and a Latino.
Photos of the incident obtained by TMZ showed Watts straddling Lucas in his car.
Civil rights leaders who initially voiced support for Watts later asked her to apologize.
ndillon@nydailynews.com
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, October 21, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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