Tyler Perry Profiling Case Resolved As Atlanta Cops Are Cleared
Two white Atlanta police officers accused of racially profiling filmmaker Tyler Perry have been cleared of all charges after an extensive internal investigation, according to CNN.
The two officers pulled Perry over on Feb. 24 after the director made an illegal left turn, allegedly to ensure that he was not being followed after leaving his film studio. Perry was questioned for about six minutes and allowed to leave without a ticket.
Perry felt that the situation was "hostile," charging that the white officers had illegally profiled him for being African-American. He said they did not recognize him as one of Atlanta's foremost public figures.
"It was so hostile," wrote Perry in a post on Facebook. "I was so confused. It was happening so fast that I could easily see how this situation could get out of hand very quickly. I didn't feel safe at all."
According to Perry, "this could have turned for the worse" had a black police officer not arrived on the scene and cautioned the two white officers on how they were proceeding.
"This officer was a black guy," Perry wrote. "He took one look at me and had that 'Oh No' look on his face."
According to Perry, after the black officer spoke "in a hushed tone" to others, "one of the officers stayed near his car while one came back, very apologetic."
Perry did not post any identifying information about the three Atlanta police officers.
TMZ notes that the two white officers could not have seen Perry behind his car's tinted windows, meaning they could not have racially profiled the director. According to them, Perry's car matched a description of a stolen vehicle and the two were planning to investigate.
"I would submit the evidence shows the actions of both officers with the regard to the traffic stop of Mr. Perry were justified, lawful and proper," an Atlanta internal affairs officer told TMZ.
According to Perry's spokeswoman Keleigh Thomas, he could not be reached for a comment.
"Tyler Perry is out of the country and unable to comment at this time," she said.
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