Tyler Perry accuses Atlanta police officers of racial profiling

ATLANTA (KABC) -- Tyler Perry says he was racially profiled last month by two white officers and Atlanta police are now investigating.

The movie and television mogul wrote a lengthy post on his Facebook page on Sunday, saying the incident was a case of racial profiling, calling the officers' actions "hostile" and said that he "didn't feel safe at all."

In his Facebook post, Perry described what happened. He said he made a left turn from a right lane after leaving his studio and got pulled over by two white officers. He said the move was a security precaution to make sure no one was following him, but when he tried to explain that to the officers, he said they were hostile.

Perry said as one officer questioned him from the driver's side window, he heard "a hard banging coming from the passenger window." When he rolled it down, the other officer at the window said, "What is wrong with you?"

At one point, Perry said the officer "reached into the car and started pulling on the switch that turns the car on and off."

Perry said the situation was finally diffused when a third - African American officer - arrived and recognized him.

"He took one look at me and had that 'Oh No' look on his face. He immediately took both officers to the back of my car and spoke to them in a hushed tone. After that, one of the officers stayed near his car while one came back, very apologetic," Perry wrote, adding, "I said all of that to say this: do you see how quickly this could have turned for the worse?"

Perry ended his post with, "RACIAL PROFILING SHOULD BE A HATE CRIME INVESTIGATED BY THE FBI!!! That way local government can't make the decision on whether or not these people get punished."

In response to the incident, the Atlanta Police Department said it has opened an investigation into Perry's claims, including whether any departmental policies or procedures were violated during the stop.

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