New photos posted online Wednesday appear to show actress Daniele Watts straddling her boyfriend in their parked car with her shirt pulled up to expose her breasts.
The “Django Unchained” actress accused police of racial bias after they were called last week to a Studio City office building where workers reported the couple having sex in public.
Los Angeles Police Sgt. Jim Parker denied he accused Watts of prostitution, as she claimed.
“They were f*cking,” Parker said a witness reported. “He was in the passenger seat with his legs outside.”
Witnesses in the office building said Brian James Lucas, who is white, was seated in the passenger seat with his feet on the curb as Watts, who is black, straddled him and rocked back and forth with the passenger-side door open.
One of the workers asked the couple to stop, TMZ reported, but a witness said Lucas began "horizontally bongo-ing her boobs back and forth."
The witness said Watts grabbed a tissue a short time later from the center console, wiped Lucas off, and tossed it onto the grass along the street.
Parker said the couple was no longer engaged in intercourse when he arrived, but he said he was justified in asking for the couple’s IDs.
The officer said the couple, their car, and the license plate number all matched descriptions provided by the witnessed who reported the lewd activity.
“People don’t make this sh*t up,” Parker said.
Watts insists on the recording that she and Lucas – a celebrity raw food chef -- were engaged in a “fully clothed” public display of affection.
Parker tells the couple he had probable cause to ask for ID and question them, but Watts and Lucas refuse to cooperate.
Watts was handcuffed and briefly detained the back of a patrol car.
An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union said police are permitted to ask for ID, just as they are allowed to ask to search personal items, vehicles, or homes – but cooperation isn’t always required.
“Just because they can ask doesn't mean you have to allow them to see your ID,” said Peter Bibring, staff attorney for the ACLU of Southern California. “If you don't want to provide identification, you can politely say you do not want to do so and ask if you are free to go.”
However, he said, police may arrest someone who has been stopped for a driving offense and fails to show ID.
“If officers are actually trying to write you a misdemeanor citation, you may have to provide identification or face arrest for the misdemeanor offense,” Bibring said.
Some states require anyone suspected of a crime to show ID if stopped by police, he said, but California does not.
Police are conducting an internal investigation of the incident, but the ACLU attorney said sometimes it’s probably better to show officers ID if asked.
“Refusing to show ID could make their investigation take longer even though it's not illegal to refuse,” Bibring said. “Providing identification can also just help an interaction with police go more smoothly. Police may want to check for warrants so they can be sure you aren't a dangerous, wanted criminal. They may be less nervous if they feel they know who they're dealing with.”
Listen to audio from the incident posted online by TMZ:
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