Racial profiling film 'Walking While Black' premieres in Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC) -- The documentary "Walking While Black: L.O.V.E. is the Answer" held its world premiere Wednesday in Santa Monica.

The film examines racial profiling in law enforcement and recounts painful stories of the past while offering solutions to curb future profiling incidents.

"I think police departments need an intervention," retired LAPD Sgt. Cheryl Dorsey said. "If you don't admit that there's a problem, then there's nothing to fix and so there's no harm in saying that we don't always get it right as police officers."

"It is a reminder of some of the things in law enforcement that we're not proud of," Santa Monica College Chief of Police Johnnie Adams said.

The film was a labor of love for director A.J. Ali and took four and a half years to complete.

"The next step is we need churches and schools and non-profits and even law enforcement agencies to license this film and bring us to their town so we can go there and do the screening, do a 'Q and A,' hold workshops and just spend time with people and teach people how to love each other again," Ali explained.

The word "love" in the title is also an acronym as explained by those involved with the film.

"L" stands for learning about your community and its people, "O" means to open your heart, "V" stands for volunteering yourself and "E" stands for empowering.