Racial prof iling alleged by actor
Darris Love, who was mistaken for burglary and car chase suspect, plans to sue Sheriff’s Department.
Darris Love, who was mistaken for a burglary suspect, plans to file suit.
Last Wednesday, Darris Love and his girlfriend, Ayesha Dumas, had just finished up a trip to the Apple Store in Glendale.
They were in Dumas’ car waiting to pull out of the garage when Love realized they hadn’t gotten their parking ticket validated.
So they pulled over and Love, 39, dressed in shorts and a sweatshirt emblazoned with the word “Crenshaw,” jumped out and ran across the street toward the store. That’s when a group of Glendale police officers surrounded Love and wrestled him to the ground about 12:50 p.m., he said.
“Have you ever had someone’s knee in your neck on the concrete?” Love asked during a news conference Tuesday. “That is the most excruciating pain ever.”
What Love didn’t know at the time was that authorities had been engaged in a high-speed chase with three burglary suspects in a black BMW. The pursuit — shown on live television — stretched from the San Fernando Valley to Glendale. The suspects pulled into the parking lot near the Glendale Galleria and bailed out of the vehicle.
While searching for these “knock-knock burglary” suspects, Los Angeles police officers set up a perimeter around the mall and Glendale police conducted a search. That’s when Love and Dumas came into the picture.
Love was detained, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said he was one of the burglary suspects. Even though investigators were searching for three men, Dumas had her Honda Civic searched and the air conditioning unit pulled out.
Love said two LAPD officers helped correct the situation.
Love was placed in a squad car with Senior Lead Officer Daryl Scoggins of the LAPD West Valley Division. Scoggins turned on the air conditioning and politely asked him to explain what went down, Love said. The actor, who has had small roles in such TV shows and films as “NYPD Blue” and “Straight Outta Compton,” described how it was all a misunderstanding; he showed the officer the parking validation ticket as evidence that he couldn’t possibly have been in a car chase with police.
Scoggins and another officer were then able to verify this story using surveillance video from the mall. Scoggins declined to comment, but a department spokesman said in a statement: “Darris Love was detained by Glendale police at the mall and turned over to the LAPD after he was mistakenly identified by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department as the possible suspect. He was in LAPD’s custody for less than three hours and was released after it was determined he was not the suspect.”
The Sheriff’s Department didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Love said that after investigators photographed him, a sheriff ’s deputy said he could identify him as one of the suspects.
Details of the arrest came to light during a news conference at the Cochran Law Firm’s office. Clad in a black suit, tie and shiny loafers, Love was flanked by activists, his girlfriend and two attorneys, including Brian Dunn.
Dunn announced that Love planned to sue the Sheriff ’s Department. Dunn questioned the tactics of the department and whether deputies had probable cause to detain Love. He also said the arrest “was a result of racial profiling.”
“Because of their attention only to Mr. Love, this crime has not been solved,” Dunn said. “The bad guys got away, and the bad guys got away because [authorities] were so focused on this man.”
Throughout the chase and its aftermath, TV news crews broadcast live footage of Love’s arrest. Love said his talent agent received an apology from one station executive, which he appreciated.
As for an apology from the Sheriff’s Department, Love said he is still waiting. He doesn’t even know the name of the deputy who fingered him as a burglary suspect.
The evening after his arrest, when Love was released from the LAPD’s West Valley division, officers were apologetic and offered him a ride. He wasn’t too keen on getting back into a squad car. He decided to call an Uber.
There was just one problem: His phone had run out of juice.
“So they had to put me in the back of a car again.”