Actor-director Damien Smith found himself unexpectedly caught in the very issue he was documenting—police brutality. Smith returned to his Hollywood apartment one day to discover a man leaving his bedroom with his grandfather’s watch and other belongings. In an attempt to protect himself, Smith cut the intruder with a knife and managed to subdue him. He promptly called the Los Angeles Police Department for assistance.
However, when the officers arrived, they used a taser on Smith and placed him in handcuffs, as mentioned in a lawsuit filed last month and reported by the Los Angeles Times. Despite complying with their orders to drop the knife and identifying himself as the resident, Smith was mistreated. Even a neighbor confirmed his identity, yet the police failed to apologize.
The situation escalated when the burglar was allowed to escape while Smith was still handcuffed in the police car. Smith was astonished by the interrogation he endured for 15 minutes, only to have the officers finally concede that he lived in the home. It was only after Smith filed a lawsuit on June 15 that the police began investigating the incident. Unfortunately, they have declined to release the body camera footage, although they claim the use of force was necessary for self-defense, according to the Washington Post.
Smith, who is Black, believes he fell victim to racial profiling, pointing out that officers often overreact to Black individuals by wrongly assuming they are criminals, as noted in the Sacramento Bee. In this case, Smith was unarmed and posed no threat while standing inside his own home. This incident has left Smith traumatized and fearful of contacting the police, which is especially disheartening since he was making a documentary about police brutality at the time of the incident.
In his lawsuit, Smith seeks unspecified damages for false arrest, assault, violation of civil rights, and other claims. It is crucial to address these issues to ensure justice and prevent further cases of racial profiling and police misconduct.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
