Rodeo Drive was barricaded at Wilshire Boulevard in response to the demonstrations. (photo by Edwin Folven)

Since George Floyd was killed after being pinned down by Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25, many Americans have voiced their outrage, including the members of the Beverly Hills City Council.

In a statement provided by city spokesman Keith Sterling, the council members called Floyd’s death “devastating to witness,” adding that “despicable actions in that video are antithetical to the values that we hold dear in Beverly Hills.”

In the aftermath, civil unrest has spread across the country, including into Beverly Hills.

On Saturday, May 30, a peaceful protest organized by Black Lives Matter that began at Pan Pacific Park in Los Angeles turned more violent near Fairfax Avenue and Third Street, where police cars were set on fire and the Original Farmers Market was vandalized. Looting was also reported.

Some of those involved in the protest and skirmish with police at Third and Fairfax then headed to Beverly Hills, where Mayor Lester Friedman said the crowd of more than 2,000 people was mostly peaceful, though “that criminal element got into the peaceful crowd, and that can be hard to control.”

“There were some tagging or graffiti sprayed along the way, but it is an element that came in after that, while the peaceful protesters were going out … that was intent upon criminal activity. This is really an event unlike any we have ever seen in many years,” Friedman said.

Interim Chief Dominick Rivetti, of the Beverly Hills Police Department, said the “peaceful demonstration at the beginning of the event on Saturday” then “eroded into criminal activity” primarily in the Business Triangle, including looting, destruction of property and assaulting police officers with fireworks, rocks, bottles and metal objects, including wrenches.

“The first group that came into the city exercising their constitutional rights numbered in excess of 2,000, and they were by-and-large peaceful,” Rivetti said. “We had some instances of graffiti with the first group of 2,000 plus, and that was about it. Then, as the afternoon and evening wore on, the criminal element that uses the law for demonstration as a cover, they surfaced and began committing the crimes, assaulting the officers and doing all of the chaotic stuff.”

Sevian Frangipane helped lead chants for the protesters in Beverly Hills on June 2. (photo by Cameron Kiszla)

In Beverly Hills, 68 people have been arrested since May 30, and Rivetti said the charges range from burglary, looting and receiving stolen property to curfew violations and even illegal possession of a firearm. A couple of people who were arrested were carrying stolen loaded guns, Rivetti said. In addition, a looter was shot by another looter on May 30, and the victim was injured and taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Sterling said.

The Beverly Hills Police Department requested assistance from nearby cities, Friedman said, but protests in those cities meant the additional law enforcement had to turn back. Rivetti said BHPD officers were “totally outnumbered by people assaulting them” on May 30.

Earlier this week, however, approximately 150 National Guard members arrived in the city, and that has helped calm the situation, Friedman said. Rivetti added that other police departments, including Culver City, Santa Monica and Santa Paula, and the Air Force Police, among others, have sent assistance as well.

“[BHPD officers have] done a spectacular job of keeping Beverly Hills safe. On Saturday, they performed in a very professional, very courageous way,” Rivetti said.

Friedman also praised the BHPD’s response to “one of the most difficult situations in many, many, many years.”

“I just want everybody to know that in our community, our police department is doing a great job protecting everyone, and we hope the situation as it is right now can be resolved as quickly as possible,” he said.

In its statement, the City Council stood with the peaceful protesters, but condemned the unlawful actions taken by some in the march.

“The peaceful protests here in Beverly Hills and across the country are calling for an end to racism and police brutality, which this council wholeheartedly endorses,” the statement said. “It’s unfortunate that this important message is being diminished by criminal behavior … behavior which will not be tolerated. Let us honor George Floyd’s memory by standing together in solidarity with the African-American community and moving this country forward where hatred has no place. It is long overdue.”

Since Saturday, Friedman and Rivetti noted that protests have been more peaceful in Beverly Hills.

On June 2, a peaceful protest of several hundred people marched on Santa Monica Boulevard and in the Business Triangle.

Sevian Frangipane, who helped lead chants for the protesters, said he’s a musical artist, and aside from the city’s connection to the music industry, he wanted to march in Beverly Hills because of the city’s high profile and its reputation for luxury.

“A lot of these people are very comfortable and, for lack of a better term, privileged, and [we wanted] to come out here and show them how great of a cause this is, that we mean nothing but peace. We just want to change, and hopefully if one person said ‘I’m with them,’ that’s worth it,” he said.

The 22-year-old pointed out that the Civil Rights Act was passed more than 50 years ago, yet Frangipane, who is biracial, has “faced the oppression of this country.”

“It’s still going on. I want my kids and my grandkids and my great grandkids to live in a free country and not whatever is going on right now,” he said.

As the protests continued, Beverly Hills put curfews in place for several days. Rivetti said the city’s curfew has helped provide police another tool to prevent “large crowds” from getting “out of hand.”

“A curfew allows us to maintain control of the situation and the community. Our resources are limited no matter how many people we have … The best use of our resources [happens when] the curfew gives us that extra control,” Rivetti said.

The City Council also had to cancel its June 2 meeting – when changes to the city’s protections for commercial renters were expected to be considered – as city staff members are working 12-hour shifts at the city’s 24/7 local emergency operations center. Once everything calms, the city can resume its work on coronavirus-related matters, Friedman said.

“You can imagine how difficult it is running an emergency operation center when we’re all required to practice social distancing, wearing masks. Right now, that has to be our focus, and we look forward to going back to the regular business and the old crisis of the COVID-19 matters,” Friedman said.

Update at 12:31 on June 4: Beverly Hills canceled its curfew.