Thread by @SamBraslow

A suit by @AttorneyCrump & Brad Gage says a disbanded BHPD task force arrested 105 Black people out of 106 total arrests. In June, after the city had already received the initial claim, the City Council voted to prioritize the formation of a new task force.beverlyhillscourier.com/2021/09/02/bhp…

The suit claims that the task force, known as the Rodeo Drive Team, targeted Black motorists and pedestrians in the city’s tony Business District.

According to Crump, the Department of Justice has reached out to him after seeing the allegations.

While the suit seeks class action status, the two named plaintiffs, Jasmine Williams and Khalil White, say they were profiled when riding electric bikes on Rodeo Drive.

The couple came to BH in September on vacation. They say they picked up the bikes near their Beverly Hills hotel and rode them to Rodeo, unaware of the city’s ban on ride sharing apps.

On Rodeo, at least five officers with the Rodeo Drive Team made contact with them and began arresting White. Williams says she tried to get their hotel key from White when officers arrested her as well.

According to Gage, they were charged with an infraction for the bikes and resisting arrest. A judge dismissed all charges, the suit says.

Acting Chief Dominick Rivetti defended the task force and the arrests of White and Williams, saying that they had been warned earlier of the ban on the bikes and that they provided false IDs.

Here’s his full statement:

According to Rivetti, within five weeks of its formation, the task force recovered an “unprecedented” 13 loaded firearms from individuals on Rodeo Drive and uncovered “widespread fraudulent use of California unemployment benefits.”

In response to the statement, Crump told me, “They may have warned some Black people, but it wasn’t these two Black people.”

In April, after the pilot program had ended, the City Council heard a report on it from Assistant Chief Marc Coopwood, who described the task force as “hugely successful.”

Coopwood announced his resignation on Aug. 31, one day after the suit was filed.

Captain Scott Dowling, allegedly the head of the task force and a subject of previous claims of racist remarks and behavior, also recently announced his retirement in an internal letter I obtained. Gage says that the announcement followed Dowling’s naming in initial claims.

Before all of this, the city’s former chief Sandra Spagnoli resigned in 2020 under a cloud of scandal and millions in legal payouts for allegedly racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic behavior and remarks.

Now, the BHPD is left without a permanent chief and an outgoing Assistant Chief and Captain, the number 2 and 3 in the department.

On a personal note, while this story gets international attention, I want to emphasize the importance of local journalism. This kind of reporting—the city’s decision to prioritize a new task force, for instance—is only possible b/c of the menial hours I spend watching meetings.

Breaking the news of Dowling’s retirement is only possible because of the relationships I’ve developed with residents and the trust they put in me.

https://twitter.com/sambraslow/status/1433111854461583370

I am far from done reporting on this. From conversations I’ve had with BHPD employees, I know there is more to the story.

If you are someone in the department, please reach out. I will protect your identity and hear you out.