Los Angeles Police Department officials believe that an officer who handcuffed actress Daniele Watts did the right thing, sources close to the investigation told NBC News. Watts, who appeared in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained," was approached on Thursday after someone called 911 and complained that two people were engaged in sexual acts in a car parked near the CBS studio lot in Studio City. Watts refused to give the responding officer any form of identification and was subsequently handcuffed. Watts was placed inside a squad car until her boyfriend, chef Brian Lucas, provided her ID to the officer. No charges were filed.
The LAPD has opened an internal investigation into the incident, but sources within the department told NBC News that the officer handled the call properly, and multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation said the couple were involved in sexual activity in a silver Mercedes.
LAPD sources also said that recorded audio of the incident, obtained by TMZ on Monday, is authentic. On the recording, Watts appears to grow increasingly agitated as an officer asks for identification, even though her boyfriend appeared willing to cooperate. At one point she attempts to put the officer on the phone with her father.
Watts was not available for comment late Monday, and her publicist said he could not comment without speaking to her first.