A black actor who says he was taken into custody at gunpoint at the Glendale Galleria by officers searching for burglary suspects following a high-speed pursuit, will hold a news conference Tuesday alleging he was wrongfully detained in a case of racial profiling.
Darris Love, 38, whose acting credits include “ER,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and the 1990s Nickelodeon series “The Secret World of Alex Mack,” says he was handcuffed as police scoured the mall last Wednesday at the end of a wild chase, and the police search ended a short time later.
Love claims he was with his girlfriend at the time and was walking through a parking garage to get his parking ticket validated about 12:50 p.m. when he was taken into custody at gunpoint and then detained for about five hours before police realized they had the wrong man.
His arrest, which was captured on camera and aired on at least one television station, culminated a police pursuit of a vehicle containing two or three “knock-knock” burglary suspects. The chase stretched from the Van Nuys area to Glendale, where the driver maneuvered into a parking garage at the Glendale Galleria and the car was abandoned.
The chase began about noon near Hayvenhurst Avenue and Vanowen Street, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The suspects had been under surveillance and were seen allegedly burglarizing a home in the 19000 block of Lemmer Drive in Tarzana, LAPD Detective Bill Dunn told ABC7. Police described the suspects as knock-knock burglars, who knock or ring to check if anyone is home before committing burglaries.
The dark-colored BMW was driven east on the Ventura (101) Freeway and then continued onto the eastbound Ventura (134) Freeway into Glendale, where the driver exited and went south on Central Avenue. At some point, officers backed off of the ground chase, but monitored the car via helicopter.
At about 12:20 p.m., the car entered the Galleria parking garage, and police set up a perimeter in the general area to look for the suspects.
About 30 minutes later, police were seen taking a man into custody. Love says that man was him.
No other suspects were apprehended, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
After he was handcuffed, Love said he asked officers to check security camera video that would prove he had been at the mall when the Tarzana burglary and subsequent chase occurred, but he was instead taken to the LAPD’s West Valley Station for booking.
Love says he believes he was racially profiled and targeted because he is black.
His girlfriend, 39-year-old Ayesha Dumas, claims her vehicle was damaged during a search by police, who threatened her with arrest for being an accessory.
Officer Mike Lopez of the LAPD’s Media Relations Section said the department had no immediate comment on Love’s detention and eventual release.