Actress Daniele Watts claimed she was held by Los Angeles police due to racial profiling after police found her in a parked car with her boyfriend and she has now been charged with committing a lewd act in public.

Watts, whose career includes supporting roles in Quentin Tarantino's film "Django Unchained" and on the HBO show "Weeds," was approached by police on Sept. 11 while in a parked silver Mercedez Benz. Officers were responding to a report that a couple was indecently exposed inside the vehicle stopped in the Studio City area of north Los Angeles.

Watts, 28, was handcuffed after she refused to show ID to police. Both Watts and her boyfriend have been charged with a single count of lewd conduct.

The African-American actress and her 43-year-old white partner, Brian James Lucas, each face up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail if convicted. Until a case hearing takes place Nov. 13, both remain free.

Lucas, a chef who specializes in raw food preparation, and Watts both have defended themselves in recent interviews, claiming that nothing improper had been going on in the car and they had only been showing public affection.

"We are, quite frankly, appalled and disturbed that the L.A. prosecutor's office has chosen to file these charges against us," the couple said in a statement Tuesday reported by the L.A. Times. "If a passionate public embrace while displaying no nudity is grounds for having charges filed against you, then we'd expect that everyone who engages in an extended public display of affection with their loved one will be targeted as well."

The actress took to social media to report how her rights had been violated during the police contact.

Both Watts and Lucas have been criticized for alleging that their respective races or interracial relationship played a role in the police confrontation.