Two civil rights attorneys are moving ahead with a class action lawsuit against the Beverly Hills Police Department for alleged racial profiling and unlawful arrests of Black people.
According to the suit, attorneys Ben Crump and Bradley Gage say of 1088 Black people arrested by Beverly Hills Police in the last three years, only two were ever convicted of a crime, demonstrating a pervasive pattern of racial profiling.
The attorneys say they now have complaints from current and former LAPD officers alleging the same kind of prejudicial treatment, and they're folding these declarations into the suit.
Two of the officers, one currently a Sergeant and the other, now retired, both of whom were members of LAPD SWAT, recounted four incidents where they and other officers were targeted solely based on their race.
They claim whether they were in plain clothes and a car with exempt plates or wearing uniforms and IDs, Beverly Hills police officers stopped and questioned them.
At a news conference outside Beverly Hills City Hall, Gauge said, "The officers from Beverly Hills had to know those were police vehicles, but they still pulled over the Black LAPD officers. With one of the officers, the police made him put his hands out, pulled their guns on him, terrified him, and made him believe that he was going to be shot."
[iframe https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d2457.129130226269!2d-118.40301372576383!3d34.07309791663132!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x80c2bc0634117b89%3A0x8b935082d4d85daa!2sBeverly%20Hills%20City%20Hall!5e1!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1697238843633!5m2!1sen!2sus allowfullscreen="" height="450" loading="lazy" referrerpolicy="no-referrer-when-downgrade" style="border:0" width="600"]Crump added, "If black police can't be safe in Beverly Hills, God helped the average black citizen. And so, it's one shocking piece of evidence after another."
KNX News contacted the Beverly Hills Police Department and the city attorney for a response to the allegations but received no reply.
A mediation session between the attorneys and the Beverly Hills Police Department is set for Monday, where additional requests for information and discovery will be made.
The case may go to trial in federal court sometime in the spring.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
