Black Actor Detained After Being ‘Mistaken’ for Knock-Knock Burglar

Darris Love Arrest (Credit: KABC-TV)

Darris Love, an African-American actor who has had roles on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Nickelodeon’s The Secret World of Alex Mack, has retained The Cochran Firm after being “mistaken” for a knock-knock burglary suspect, and detained at a Southern California mall.

Love’s ordeal began on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 6, during a shopping trip to the Glendale Galleria, representatives for the actor said in a media advisory.

His attorneys at The Cochran Firm, founded by the late Johnnie Cochran, plan to discuss the case and possible litigation at a news conference on Tuesday morning.

Last week, Los Angeles police were pursuing a black BMW with three “knock-knock burglary” suspects inside, as the vehicle made its way through North Hollywood, then pulled into a parking structure a few miles away at the Glendale shopping center, according to reps for the 38-year-old actor.

Read More: ‘Law and Order: SVU’ Started a ‘Cultural Shift,’ Mariska Hargitay Says

Darris Love attends a red carpet event. (Credit: Instagram/@Darris_Love)
Darris Love attends a red carpet event. (Credit: Instagram/@Darris_Love)

So-called knock-knock burglars usually operate in groups. One person knocks on the door of a home and if no one answers, the others break in and make off with cash and valuables. Over the past two years, there’s been a rash of the burglaries in affluent neighborhoods, prompting the LAPD to assemble a special task force to stop the crimes.

Representatives for Love said he had done nothing wrong, when he was detained by officers who “threw him to the ground with guns drawn and accused him of being one of the burglary suspects.”

The press release goes on to say: “Love asked the officers to review the mall security camera footage to prove that he had been at the mall at the time of the burglary… officers refused and took him to the LAPD’s West Valley station for booking.”

Read MoreByron Allen Bought Weather Channel to Stop Playing in ‘Negro League’

Local television crews, including KABC-TV, arrived on the scene and recorded Love being taken away in handcuffs. While the Glendale Police Department has jurisdiction over the shopping mall,  the case started in Los Angeles and Love was taken to an LAPD station.

The LAPD confirmed to Urban Hollywood 411 that Love was released several hours later, and was not charged. The police department declined additional comment.

The actor alleges his detention was the result of “racial profiling.”

A similar incident occurred in Beverly Hills in 2014, when African-American TV producer Charles Belk was detained for six hours after being mistaken for a bank robbery suspect while walking down the street. The Beverly Hills Police Department later apologized.