A lawsuit presented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump accused Beverly Hills PD of racially profiling Black people in their arrests.
Representing 1,086 people who allege Beverly Hills PD wrongfully arrested them in the past two years, Crump and attorney Bradley Gage’s class-action lawsuit seeks $500 million in damages. Each of the plaintiffs was released soon after their arrests, with Crump saying the arrests were made to send a message.
“Beverly Hills police arrested 1,088 Black people over a 2-yr period — yet only 2 were convicted of any crime,” Crump said in a statement Tuesday. “We’ve filed a $500M lawsuit alleging they targeted Black people, not for crimes but to send a message that ‘We don’t want your kind around here.'”
In response to the lawsuit, the city of Beverly Hills released a statement saying the statistics presented by Crump were “mischaracterized.”
“The City of Beverly Hills is an international destination that always welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world," the statement from the city said. “The role of the Beverly Hills Police Department is to enforce the law, regardless of race. The statistics presented referencing the number of convictions is a mischaracterization of the evidence in this case. In addition, the 1,088 arrests referenced include people cited and released, not just custodial arrests. The City denies and will continue to strongly defend itself against these allegations.”
