Santa Monica, California police said its officers responded appropriately when Mission: Impossible star Ving Rhames was held at gunpoint inside his own home in 2016.
During an appearance on The Clay Cane Show to promote Mission: Impossible – Fallout, the 59-year-old Rhames said police burst into his home after a neighbor reported a “large black man” broke into the home. Rhames said he opened his front door to find police officers with guns pointed at him.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“I open the door and there is a red dot pointed at my face from a 9-mm. [Police] say put up your hands, literally,” Rhames recalled. “I just walked and opened up the door….Then they said ‘open the front screen door.’ They say do it with one hand so then I have to do it with one hand. My hands are up and they have me outside.”
After Rhames was taken outside with a gun pointed to his head, the situation was diffused when one of the officers recognized the actor from a high school basketball game their sons played in. Police and Rhames when went to his neighbor’s home to tell her the person who went inside was the owner. The neighbor then denied calling 911, Rhames said.
A Santa Monica Police Department spokesperson told The Blast confirmed Rhames’ story, but said the incident took place in July 2016, not last year. Around that time, there were reports of multiple home invasions in the area, and they felt the heavy response was “appropriate.”
The situation quickly calmed after an officer recognized the actor.
A spokesperson also told PEOPLE something similar happened when a black woman was locked out of her home. Police were called just as a locksmith was helping her get into her home.
“You don’t know what you’re going to encounter,” he said. “Officers can be very cautious.”
According to the spokesperson, the Rhames incident inspired Santa Monica police to create the “Meet Your Neighbors” program to encourage residents to become friends with their neighbors with local events.
While Rhames’ situation ended without anyone getting hurt, Rhames told Cane he wondered what would have happened if someone claimed his son was breaking in.
“What if it was my son and he had a video game remote or something, and you thought it was a gun,” Rhames said. “Just like, I don’t know, Trayvon [Martin] had a bag of Skittles.”
Rhames is a Golden Globe-winning actor who stars in the Mission: Impossible franchise as Luther Strickell. The fifth film in the series, Fallout, hit theaters this weekend.
Photo credit: Ian Lawrence/GC Images/Getty Images
