Attorney Ben Crump speaks outside Beverly Hills City Hall on Oct. 27, when the supplemental claim filing was announced. (photo by Brynn Mechem)

The group of attorneys who filed a class-action lawsuit against the Beverly Hills Police Department due to arrests made by its Rodeo Drive Task Force have filed a supplemental claim for two individuals who they believe were racially profiled by BHPD officers.

According to the attorneys, Joseph Nett and his girlfriend, Lakisha Swift, were detained by officers on Aug. 5, 2020, on their way to the beach after Nett stopped his vehicle “a few inches” over the stop line on Wilshire Boulevard.

“They [were] being followed,” attorney Brad Gage said during a press conference in front of Beverly Hills City Hall on Oct. 27. “Why were they being followed? Because they were in Beverly Hills, driving while Black.”

Officers never charged Nett with a crime, but he spent three days in jail, according to the claim. Swift was handcuffed and released, the claim states.

“That’s why we, again, say no more,” Gage said. “No more racial profiling. No more false arrests. No more detaining someone for three days in jail without ever charging them with a crime simply because of the color of their skin – for something that a white person would never be put in jail for. At most, you see a white person questioned and released. So, we’re here for justice.”

According to a statement issued by the city, Nett was a passenger in the vehicle, not the driver. The vehicle had been stopped for a traffic violation, and officers determined Nett was in violation of a restraining order obtained by a female driver, presumably Swift.

Although the driver did not want to press charges against Nett, officers took him into custody “for her safety and according to the law,” the statement reads.

“The members of the Beverly Hills Police Department take an oath to protect human life. The department’s practice is to contact and question individuals when it is believed they may be involved in criminal activity or another violation of the law. … BHPD remains committed to keeping our community safe while enforcing the law with respect and dignity for all.”

At the beginning of September, Gage and attorneys Ben Crump and Mark Harris held a similar press conference outside City Hall, announcing the class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Philadelphia residents Khalil White and Jasmine Williams, who were arrested for riding scooters on Rodeo Drive.

The attorneys said White and Williams were arrested and charged, but the charges were eventually dropped. Crump said the couple’s only crime was operating a “scooter while Black.” However, the department issued a release stating that the couple had been stopped earlier that day for riding scooters on the sidewalk and provided false information to officers.

In the class-action lawsuit, the attorneys took aim at the department’s Rodeo Drive Task Force, which Crump referred to as Operation Safe Streets. While the claim states that Nett and Swift were detained two weeks before the formation of the task force, Crump said it’s indicative of the department’s history of targeting Black individuals.

“This is Racial Profiling 101,” he added.

Gage has filed numerous lawsuits against the department over the last few years. Many of the lawsuits have come on behalf of department employees, who have alleged discrimination and retaliation by department leaders.

In November 2018, the city of Beverly Hills announced a $2.3 million settlement with former BHPD Capt. Mark Rosen, who claimed that he had been subjected to anti-Semitic remarks and denied promotions.

“If you tolerate, within a police department, discrimination against someone because they’re Black or brown or female or gay, that gets put out on the streets,” Gage said.