By City News Service, Special to the LA Watts Times
A Black actor who says he was taken into custody at gunpoint at the Glendale Galleria by authorities searching for burglary suspects following a high-speed pursuit said today he was wrongfully detained in a case of racial profiling.
Darris Love, 38, and his attorneys announced the filing of a legal claim against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, alleging that deputies identified him as a suspect in the burglary even though he and his girlfriend had been shopping at the mall during the crime and the ensuing chase last Wednesday.
The sheriff’s department issued a statement acknowledging that detectives with its Major Crimes Bureau witnessed a residential burglary and notified the Los Angeles Police Department.
“Mr. Love closely resembled the individual who left the scene of the burglary,” according to the sheriff’s department. “While Glendale police officers were searching the mall area for the burglary suspects, Mr. Love was seen running away not far from the area where the pursuit terminated towards an illegally parked vehicle.
“Mr. Love was detained by Glendale police for further investigation by LAPD. During the detention, LAPD officers conferred with Major Crimes detectives who initially identified Mr. Love as one of the burglary suspects seen leaving the residence.
