Actor handcuffed, mistaken for chase suspect suing LASD

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An actor taken into custody while shopping at a mall in Glendale is claiming racial profiling for being detained for several hours before police realized he was not the suspect they were looking for.

Darris Love praised the Los Angeles Police Department on Tuesday for proving his innocence, but said he's suing the L.A. County Sheriff's Department.

The 38-year-old actor was handcuffed and detained at the Americana at Brand shopping mall on Wednesday, after he was thought to be one of three home burglary suspects.

A LAPD and sheriff's department burglary task force chased the suspects from Tarzana to the mall. As Love went to get his parking ticket validated, he said he heard police tell him to freeze.

"It's been hard sleeping from having a gun pulled just eye-distance to your head, slammed to the ground, knee and your neck, you know, it wears on my peace of mind," Love told reporters at a press conference.

Love's girlfriend was waiting near the parking exit for him to hurry back. She said police approached her car with guns drawn.

"I'm like, 'I didn't do anything.' And so I'm confused. It's all happening so fast. You don't have time to try to reconcile with police, you just get out of your car," described Ayesha Dumas.

The sheriff's department said Love looked like one of the suspects and was detained based on probable cause.

LAPD officers brought him to the West Valley police station. Love said they checked the surveillance video at the Americana and the Apple Store, proving he was there and not involved in the burglary and pursuit. He was released several hours later.

"When I got released from West Valley, they were like, 'You know what, there's no words to describe the inconvenience, but at least we could just give you a ride," Love recalled.

Love is suing the sheriff's department on the grounds of false imprisonment and false arrest. His attorneys believe he was racially profiled -- a situation that affects many people.

"It is about the administration of justice and how there are two different standards," said attorney Brian Dunn.