A recent lawsuit against the Beverly Hills indicates that the cops there are allegedly so racist that they’re even racially profiling other on-duty officers from nearby cities.
Two on-duty LAPD officers were allegedly racially profiled while in the city. One officer was actually in uniform when it happened. One of the officers claimed he had a gun pulled on him during traffic stops. Both were stopped for traffic violations, LAist reports:
“It tells us it doesn’t matter who you are in Beverly Hills,” said Gage. “If you are a police officer getting pulled over for driving while Black, the ordinary citizen should be terrified going to the city of Beverly Hills if you’re Black.”
Nationally recognized attorney Benjamin Crump, who represented the family of George Floyd, is also representing plaintiffs in this case, which was first filed in 2021. Crump and Gage are asking for $500 million in damages.
Last month, they said new numbers showed that of more than 1,000 Black people arrested, only two were convicted of crimes.
The now class-action lawsuit accuses the city of Beverly Hills and its police of racially profiling Black people on or around the city’s famous Rodeo Drive. The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Bradley Gage and Benjamin Crump. Crump represented the family of George Floyd.
The suit was originally brought by Jasmine Williams, 30, and Khalil White, 24. Both were arrested by Beverly Hills Police in 2020 for riding a scooter on a sidewalk.
“We were enjoying ourselves on vacation,” Khalil said in 2021. “The arrest was traumatizing.” He said they were riding the scooter on the sidewalk, which is legal in their home city.
Khalil, who said he had visited Beverly Hill five times previously with no issues, spent the night in jail. Williams spent about eight hours behind bars. They were charged with two misdemeanors — riding a scooter on the sidewalk and resisting arrest.
The city provided LAist with arrest data from a two month period in 2020. It showed that out of the 90 people arrested over that period, 80 of them were Black and nearly all of them were men between 18 and 30. This is even more troubling when you factor in that Black people make up just two percent of the city’s population.
The city and its police are being accused of having a history of discrimination against Black people. Gage said if Black police officers are getting pulled over in the city, other Black people should be worried. “It tells us it doesn’t matter who you are in Beverly Hills. If you are a police officer getting pulled over for driving while Black, the ordinary citizen should be terrified going to the city of Beverly Hills if you’re Black,” Gage said.