Beverly Hills PD to Investigate Itself over Falsely Arrested Black TV/Film Producer

The Beverly Hills Police Department announced today it is conducting an internal investigation into the arrest of a black television/film producer who was detained for about six hours on suspicion of bank robbery before being cleared and released.

Police said they believe the initial arrest of 51-year-old Charles Belk at about 5:20 p.m. Friday was proper because he had been “positively identified by an eye-witness to the robbery.” But Chief David Snowden said the department “should have done a better job once Mr. Belk was taken into custody.”

Belk took to Facebook following his arrest, writing that he was walking away from a restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard when police grabbed him. He said he was handcuffed, forced to sit on a curb then taken to the police station, where he was held until about midnight, when detectives reviewed bank security video and realized he was not involved in the heist.

“I get that the Beverly Hills Police Department didn’t know at the time that I was a law-abiding citizen of the community and that in my 51 years of existence, had never been handcuffed or arrested for any reason,” Belk wrote. “All they saw was someone fitting the description. Doesn’t matter if he’s a ‘Taye Diggs BLACK,’ a ‘LL Cool J BLACK’ or a ‘Drake BLACK.”’

Police said Tuesday Belk was detained because he matched the description of a man suspected of being an accomplice to Brianna Clemons Kloutse, 47, who was arrested the same day following the robbery at a Citibank in the 8400 block of Wilshire Boulevard. Kloutse is suspected of being the “Purse Packing Bandit,” who has been connected to a series of bank heists in Los Angeles, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills.

Kloutse has since been charged with nine counts of second-degree robbery and two counts of attempted second-degree robbery. Prosecutors said she is accused of heists dating back to October 2012.

In response to Belk’s Facebook post, Beverly Hills police issued a statement Tuesday saying it “deeply regrets the inconvenience to Mr. Belk.”

Snowden said today that while he believes police acted properly in detaining Belk, he wants an investigation into Belk’s allegations that he was denied phone calls and immediate access to his attorney. Belk also claimed he was never read his Miranda rights and could have been released sooner if police had simply reviewed surveillance video from the bank.

“We are taking these allegations very seriously,” Snowden said. “We take pride in the professionalism of our department and the high-quality service that we provide to those who live, work and visit our community.”

Snowden said the department’s Professional Standards Unit was reviewing Belk’s allegations, but some initial “breakdowns” in the handling of Belk’s case have “been identified and will be addressed.”

Belk said he had been working at a pre-Emmy Awards gifting suite at an area hotel and was planning to attend a pre-Emmy party the night he was arrested.

A group of civil rights activists plan to hold a news conference Friday calling on Beverly Hills to enact a “racial profiling prohibition” ordinance in response to Belk’s case.

“Civil rights organizations for years have gotten numerous complaints that Beverly Hills police target black males for unwarranted stops, frisks and harassment,” said Earl Ofari Hutchinson of Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable. “Belk may be the latest example of this.”

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photo.