Detained and cuffed: Charles Belk sits on the
street with his legs crossed while two officers
guard him after his arrest for a crime he did not
commit on Friday
A film and television producer preparing to attend
an Emmy's pre-party on Friday says he was
wrongly held for six hours by officers of the
Beverly Hills police force who said he 'fit the
description' of a black bank robber.
Harvard graduate Charles Belk, 51, posted a
photograph to Facebook of himself handcuffed
and sitting on a curb with two officers standing
over him after he was pulled over as he left a
restaurant to top up a parking meter.
The award-winning executive says he was
swarmed on Wilshire Boulevard by officers and
not told why he had been arrested and was
denied a phone call before being released just
before midnight when police admitted they had
made a mistake.
A furious Belk was booked on $100,000 bail and
says he was treated with contempt by the
arresting officers who only let him go when they
reviewed the video and realized that the bank
robbery suspect bore no resemblance to him
according to KTLA.
The photograph of Belk sitting indignantly on the
curb, legs crossed while officers of the Beverly
Hills Police Department stand guard over him has
been shared almost 30,000 times on the social
network.
Belk, who has worked with the NAACP to produce
their Image Awards and on An Evening of Stars
tributes to music legends Chaka Khan and Lionel
Richie, took to Facebook to express his deep
disappointment and concern over his arrest.
Television: Charles Belk with actor and producer
Catfish Jean (left) and actor Hari Williams
(center). The Harvard educated producer was
arrested and booked on a $100,000 bond on
Friday
'I get that the Beverly Hills Police Department
didn’t know that I was a well educated American
citizen that had received a B.S. in electrical
engineering from the University of Southern
California, an MBA from Indiana University … and
an executive leadership certificate from Harvard
Business School,' wrote Belk on Facebook.
'Hey, I was ‘tall,’ ‘bald,’ a ‘male’ and ‘black,’ so I
fit the description.'
Describing the distressing moment he was pulled
over, Belk said 'It's one of those things that you
heard about, but never think it would happen to
you.'
Belk, who was the Deputy Director of Olympic
Village Operations for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic
Games was pulled over at around 5.20pm.
'Within minutes, I was surrounded by 6 police
cars, handcuffed very tightly, fully searched for
weapons, and placed back on the curb,' wrote the
angry television producer.
'Within an hour, I was transported to the Beverly
Hills Police Headquarters, photographed, finger
printed and put under a $100,000 bail and
accused of armed bank robbery and accessory to
robbery of a Citibank.'
The arrest of Belk is just the latest controversial
and unfortunate incident in recent weeks that has
occurred between police and African American
men, including the choke-hold death of Eric
Garner in New York City and the fatal shooting of
Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Emmys: Charles Belk poses with an Emmy award
last week. The producer was working at pre-
Emmy parties last week when he was arrested
Worryingly, Belk said that his arrest could have
turned out drastically different and alluded to the
current climate of tension that exists between law
enforcement and African Americans.
'The sad thing is, prior to my freedom being taken
from me for an easily proven crime I did not
commit, I was walking back to my car, by myself,
because I needed to check my parking meter, so
that I wouldn’t get a ticket and break the law,'
wrote Belk.
'In fact, if it wasn’t for a text message that I was
responding to, I would have actually been running
up LaCienega Blvd when the first Beverly Hills
Police Officer approached me. Running!'
After Belk's release, the Beverly Hills Police
Department attempted to clarify their treatment of
Belk, who should have attended a pre-Emmy's
party instead of a freezing cold jail cell on Friday
evening.
A statement issued on Monday claimed that
officers were investigating an armed robbery at a
nearby Citibank and arrested Belk beause 'he
matched the physical characteristics of the
second suspect and was in the area of the bank
shortly after the robbery.'
A witness to the robbery allegedly identified Belk
as the thieves accomplice, leading to his
detention.
Arrest: Chalres Belk posted his detention
certificate to Facebook in the aftermath of his
false arrest for a bank robbery in Beverly Hills on
Friday
Thanking his lawyer for eventually securing his
release, Belk thanked them saying 'I am certain
that I would still be locked up in the custody of
the Beverly Hills Police Department.
'Based on comments made by a Beverly Hills
Police Officer during my booking, and an FBI
Special Agent, it appeared that they had tried and
convicted me.'
Belk said he understood officers doing their job.
However, what galled him was the fact that no
one had checked the video.
'Why, at 11:59pm (approximately 6 hours later),
was the video footage reviewed only after my
request to the Lead Detective for the Beverly Hills
Police Department and an FBI Agent to do so,
and, after being directly accused by another FBI
Special Agent of '…going in and out of the bank
several times complaining about the ATM
Machine to cause a distraction…' thereby aiding in
the armed robbery attempt of a bank that I never
heard of, or ever been to; and within 10
minutes……10 MINUTES (sic), my lawyer was told
that I was being release because it was clear that
it was not me,' wrote Belk.
The Beverly Hills Police Department said that they
have apologized to Belk.
'The Beverly Hills Police Department regrets the
inconvenience to Mr. Belk, but was under
obligation to thoroughly verify that he was not
the suspect before releasing him,' the statement
from the police read.
However, referring to the continuing troubles
nationwide, Belk said that the 'time has come for
a change in the way OUR (sic) law enforcement
officers 'serve and protect' us.
'We all do not, FIT THE DESCRIPTION.'
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